


Built for Two

by horseparkour



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: A crumb of sapnap, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, And Sapnap says like two things, Canon-Typical Violence, Dialogue Heavy, M/M, Manhunt - Freeform, Minecraft, Monsters, No Smut, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Swearing, The fic is IN minecraft okay, Virtual Reality, guys being dudes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:14:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 46,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26902705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horseparkour/pseuds/horseparkour
Summary: After a round of Manhunt gone wrong, Dream and George are stuck on a survival world server for a whole week. Though it seems like a normal server at first, everything is not what it seems, and soon George and Dream get wrapped up in an adventure that neither of them were prepared for.With a countdown on their time, and limited lives to spare, the two friends only have one option - keep going and survive.
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 47
Kudos: 293





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fiction. This not intended to offend anyone. Enjoy. Stream 'Your City Gave Me Asthma' on Spotify.

**DAY ONE**

**Objective: Manhunt**

“Hey guys! Today we’re going to be playing Manhunt. It’s a game invented by my friends and I where they have to hunt me down while I try to get to The End and beat the game. They can die as many times as they want, but if I die, I lose the challenge.” Dream balanced a camcorder in his hands, filming himself waving his hands and giving off his best entertainer voice. His white resin upper-face mask stared back at him in the viewfinder.

“On this episode, it’s just going to be George hunting me. But I’m not going easy on him this time. Make sure to click the link in the description after the video to check out his channel.” He panned the camcorder over in the direction of George for a split second, who waved meekly, before he pointed the lens back to himself. 

Dream had done this plenty of times before. He held the camera in his hands, smiling and reciting the classic intro off the top of his head like it was prayer at church. His bones probably said ‘Be Sure To Subscribe’ on them. “Also, according to Youtube, only a small percentage of the people who watched my videos are actually subscribed. If you’re not subscribed, go ahead subscribe now. It doesn’t cost anything and it helps us out a lot with making new content.” 

After a thumbs-up, he cut the camera and turned to George, pressing a small button on his body cam as he did so. “There’s no way you’re gonna win this, you know.” He said with a smirk. 

“I think you underestimate my level of improvement, Dream.” George adjusted his glasses, a flash of his eyes showing as he did so. “Have more faith in me.” He almost tripped when he said that, but he just acted unphased and hoped that Dream didn’t notice. 

But Dream noticed. He noticed everything. He chuckled to himself and George’s cheeks went pink. It was that aspect of Dream that made it impossible to win - his ungodly gift of perception. But George was confident in this round of Manhunt. The world Dream had purchased for this video was larger. It was more expansive, and expensive, and was perfect for George to turn it all around and finally kick his ass.

“You know what? We should raise the stakes a bit.” George said.

Dream rolled his eyes beneath his mask and crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course you want to.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing.” He knew George wasn’t bluffing when he said he had gotten better. He had witnessed his skills improve first hand over the past year - in fact, Dream had helped give him some tips. Maybe that wasn’t the best move now that he thought about it, but it was too late for regrets. “Okay, fine. What kind of wager are you looking for? Loser pays the winner one thousand? Five thousand?”

George shrugged. “I don’t know, man. You decide. You’re the one that’s going to lose, how badly do you want to pay?” He put a hand on his hip. “How deep do you want the dent in your wallet to be?”

Dream thought for a moment, idly kicking the dirt as he did. His enhanced totem of undying swung against his chest. “Alright, I have an idea.” He tapped the side of his mask as he thought. “Loser pays the winner ten grand and...you get to take home that pink sheep behind you.” He finally wagered, pointing behind George to note the sheep - as if there was a sheep to be noted. 

There was nothing there, but it was a fantastic way to confuse and distract his poor friend. It was a little bit of a dirty trick, but, in all fairness, George should know better by now. George shouldn’t be so gullible anymore. Not after being his friend for so long.

But George turned around without even thinking. “Oh? Where?” He glanced around for a bit, longer than he should have, before the wave of embarrassment came crashing down. He cursed under his breath as he whipped around again. “Hey! Asshole!”

But Dream was already gone. The very second George had turned his attention away from Dream, he was already sprinting in the opposite direction, weaving around the oak trees and doing whatever it took to put some distance between him and George. The wind blew against his mask and chilled his sensitive skin.

He reached up and unmuted his earpiece. “ _ Geooooorge _ !” He teased. “You’re never gonna catch me now!”

“Yeah, yeah!” George grumbled under his breath after unmuting his own. He jumped into action, reveling in his stupidity before just pulling out his compass. “I hate this stupid thing.” He muttered. “But whatever.”

Once he was sure George was off his tail, he slowed down and began to harvest the surrounding materials. “How did you already lose me? George, what are you even doing right now?” 

“I have shorter legs than you, I’m going to need you to be patient with my running skills.”

Dream began quickly crafting the tools he needed. First, a wooden pick, three boats and a wooden sword in case somebody decided to pop up out of nowhere. He placed his sword in his little belt and decided to hunt for a cavern next. He had been practicing his speedrunning for this very moment and he wasn’t going to switch up his routine now.

George ran through the woods, trying to predict where Dream was heading. If he was subtle enough, he wouldn’t even need much - just one sword, TNT and some flint could do the trick. He smirked and spoke into his earpiece. “You know, it would be super kind of you to just tell me where you are.” He knew it was a fruitless effort to even suggest that. 

“I’m in your heart, George, always.” It didn’t take him long to find a wide open cave, and only a few blocks down he saw the mouth of an abandoned mineshaft calling his name. He muttered a small victorious ‘Yes!’ under his breath before making his way down. “As long as you follow your heart, I’ll always be with you.”

“Oh, piss off!” He laughed. He was getting closer. And closer. The compass said so. He could feel a smile creeping up his face.

“You don’t want to follow your heart? Life has bittered you.” Dream scoffed. He double-checked that his chest camera was recording. He quickly made some torches and started to light his way through the cave. This really was a good world - well worth the price. Usually he wouldn’t shell out for a world this big just for Manhunt, but it was a huge discount he couldn’t refuse. It was rumored to have been glitchy for the last users on this server, but Dream hadn’t noticed anything of the sort. It wasn’t glitchy at all. It was perfect.

And he was winning. So it’s extra perfect.

George stopped for a moment to gather some supplies, keeping his eye on the compass the whole time. He wasn’t far away at all. This was going to be so easy. He tried to reveal nothing he was doing over the earpiece as he did so. “You know, I think-  _ oh, fuck _ !”

Dream perked up and held his earpiece. “George? Are you okay?” He winced as static overtook the speaker. “Dude?”

“Oh, I’m being killed by the stupid - fuck - okay. Okay. Don’t even worry about that. Just an angry dog. Foolish bit on my part. Anyways, Dream. I’m still expecting a pink sheep at the end of this.” George brushed himself off and wiped sweat off his brow. “I want sheep-based reparations.” He looked at the bites on his arm and shrugged it off. He looked down at his compass and grinned again.

“Okay, fine, but I get to name it.” He brought out his pickaxe and began to collect the stone around him for furnaces and better tools. He found some chests and killed some monsters. It was very productive for him.

“No, you’re going to name it something stupid.” George returned to running, grinning as he realized that Dream was going to be right there, right with him. He was going to be right on top of him.

“I won’t name it something stupid, I promise.” He quickly slapped down the crafting bench and began making himself some stone tools along with a handful of furnaces. 

On the surface, George kept running. And running. There it was. Dream was right behind all of these trees, there would be Dream.

But he wasn’t there. 

There was no one. 

The field was empty as George broke the treeline. It took a moment to set in, but then George looked down at his wooden pickaxe in dread. He looked down at the grass under his feet. He was going to have to dig. “Dream, you motherfucker.”

When he heard George’s sounds of dismay he looked up as if he could see through the ceiling. “What? What’s wrong, George?” He couldn’t hold back his laughter. 

"Nothing's wrong, I'm going to pull a genius move and - Oh. Oh, no. That was a mistake, I can’t-" The earpiece went to raw static as there were the loud noises of George screaming and too much chaos. After a long beat of silence, George groaned. "Dammit...Don't even worry about it! Everything is, uh...Everything is happening according to plan. I'll...Damn. One moment."

George, on the surface still, stood with a wooden sword in his hands. Him and the sword both looked like they had seen better days. He bat away the purple sparkles still in the air and scoffed. "Alright. New plan."

“Wait, did you just- Did you just die?” He stopped mining the iron on the cave wall to lose his shit laughing. He bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to ward off the wheezing, “You- Is that what I heard above me? Did you try to kill the enderman?”

“Well, maybe I looked at one and happened to think that maybe it could be a happy accident!”

He wiped away a budding tear under his mask and continued to make work of the wall, throwing the abundance of supplies into his previously prepared furnaces, waiting for them to smelt into something usable. He sat down for a moment and stretched out his legs. “What were you even going to do with an Enderman? What, out-pearl me? Wait at the stronghold and box me out?”

“...Maybe.”

“ _ George!” _

“It could have worked!”

“Do you even have a sword?”

“I’ll have you know that  _ I have a sword _ !” George cried. “And if I  _ did  _ try to kill an Enderman - which I totally didn’t - then I would have won probably.” He started to get to work mining down over the spot where Dream was. “And I will have you know that if I did die - which you have no proof I did - it would have been in a cooler way so you couldn’t have made fun of me for it.” He looked down at his totem gratefully.

“Sure, George.” His reply was short as he was concentrating on the closeness of the noise above him. In the span of only a few seconds, he crafted himself an iron sword and a chest plate, throwing it on and ducking into a small crevice within the cave to hide and wait for his opponent to make an appearance. “I believe you...one hundred percent...” He started to snicker.

But then, the concentration set in. And Dream went silent as his green eyes scanned the cave.

George stopped what he assumed was a few blocks above his friend. He took some spare wood and his crafting table and made himself some basic stone tools. “See, I don’t like it when you go quiet.”

“What? Is my voice  _ that  _ enchanting?” He had hushed himself to a whisper to avoid detection, but it had come out a more mockingly seductive purr. George sputtered and grasped for words as Dream started to chuckle. He dug into the wall behind him three blocks in and then two blocks up, sealing the way he went in. And then he waited.

When George finally found his voice, he groaned in frustration. “No, Dream, it’s because you’re sneaky - oh, you changed sides.” He looked at the compass and walked in a little circle. “Oh, no, where are you going?”

Dream kept laughing as he dug a small tunnel to sit on the other side of George again. And again. He kept circling like a shark. He thought for a second on what his plan should be. On one hand, he could probably surprise attack George and get him out of his hair for a little while, but they were very close to spawn and he would risk losing the challenge if George was more prepared than he thought. On another hand, he could tower to the surface and start running. He needed more food anyways and stumbling across a village would help him an awful lot.

Or he could take the risky gamble and try to find a lava pool. He had enough iron for a bucket and it could make for a really quick win if he found one.

_ Fuck it _ , he thought. Desperate times call for weird Manhunt measures. 

“I don’t know, George, where am I going- Oh, snap! No way!” He faked a gasp as he turned around to mine away from the direction of the other. Confusing George was his best strategy, and George made it more easy than it needed to be. He thought it was a little endearing that the other was so gullible. It made for some really funny clips and it typically gave him the upper hand. But also, it was just sweet.

And George fell for it easily, as expected. “Did you just fucking find diamond or something?” He rushed to start digging sideways towards Dream’s position. “What did you find? No you didn’t.” He dug, faster and faster, aiming right for him. “Don’t bullshit me, I’m going to end you!”

“No, I...found a village.” He went quiet again, his heart rate increasing rapidly. 

“Shut up.” George said. “You jerk, don’t give me a heart attack like that.

Dream took out the excess blocks he had handy and filled the tunnel as he dug, trying to dig around and find a cave ahead, crossing his fingers there would be an opening. Sadly, he found none, but a large piece of cobble did happen to fall from above directly on his toe, causing him to yelp and jump back. “Motherfucker!”

And that was all the delay and distraction that George needed.

Just as Dream yelled that, George broke through the wall. “Oh, hey!” He said cheerily, raising his sword. “Fancy running into you!” His smile glinted in the dim and distant torchlight.

Dream whipped around so fast that it was a surprise his neck didn’t snap. The minute he had the other in view, he slashed him right across the chest. “Back up, George!”

George stumbled back but bounced back quickly. He made sure his camera was still working before squaring up again.

Dream held up his sword and braced himself. With his heart racing and his adrenaline pumping, it felt like the walls were shrinking. His only focus was on George, who was boxing him in. He needed a way out of this situation as fast as possible. Chances of escape seemed slim, but the low odds only made him more excited.

On the off chance he did die, he knows that there’s not enough footage from today’s game to post online. They’d just have to play another game. Whenever this happened, it felt like an arrow right through his pride. It was so frustrating to not do everything right the first time, even if low odds and high stakes were his favorite mix. He took a deep breath and channeled his ego.

He didn’t want to prove that George was better than him. So he would just have to win.

“Let me go, George, I don’t want to hurt you!” Dream cried.

“I’m looking forward to my money and my new sheep.” George laughed. He stepped through the hole in the wall until he was standing with his sword at Dream’s neck. He wished he could see his expression beyond his mouth - it would make this even funnier. He dramatically started to inch the stone blade closer to Dream’s throat. He was dragging it out for the fans, knowing that Dream would have been annoyed if he didn’t. “Any last words, friend?”

Dream stepped back the smallest bit, pushing himself against the wall completely. He shivered at the feeling of the cool stone. He peered at the other man through the holes in his mask, thankful it could hide the playful panic in his eyes. He was a little miffed that he couldn’t see George’s own eyes - but the light sensitivity caused by his heterochromia was much more important than Dream’s demented manhunt pleasures.

Dream had completely run out of ideas on how to get out of this situation, and for a slim moment almost started to accept his loss. He smiled the smallest bit and asked. “Can you tell me you love me before I go?”

“Maybe next time.” George rolled his eyes and lifted his sword, but in a stroke of sheer luck in Dream’s fiery favor, he somehow managed to miss and get his sword stuck in the stone next to his friend’s head. 

Maybe his foot had slipped. Maybe his arm spasmed. It didn’t really matter how. But now, George was stuck there and Dream was already starting to gloat. 

“George...come on!” He laughed.

“Hey!” George cried, yanking at the sword. “Wait!”

Dream took the chance to slice at George’s side, causing the other’s knees to buckle. “Plan ahead better! Be smarter! Jesus, George. How did you do that?”

“Fuck you!” George hissed.

“Should have given everything a bit more thought!”

"Give _ this _ some more thought!" George yanked his sword out of the stone and swung at Dream, hitting his chest plate with all the force he could muster. He slid over to stand between him and the exit. “You know you can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“I know, I’m very stalk-able.” Dream smirked. “Thank you for admitting it.” He tried to dodge George’s next swing, but he felt the sword in his thigh before he even could respond. He looked down at the monitor on his wrist and grimaced. Only five hearts left.

Even though Dream was talking a big game, he was floundering. His adrenaline and the narrow tunnel were making his head spin. The air down in the tunnels was suffocating. “I keep wanting to do some martial arts shit but I know I’ll only end up on my ass.” He joked. “This wasn’t the best venue for a showdown.”

George let his guard down, lowering his sword. "Damn, dude, what is up with you today? Did you not get enough sleep or something?" He teased. He pushed up his glasses and started to chuckle. “You usually would have my head in your hands by now.”

“I’m perfectly fine. Did  _ you _ not get enough sleep today?” He retorted before giving a sharp swing to the others left. He wanted to drive George inwards, away from the exit. All he wanted to do was slip past. “Mr. I Missed An Easy Kill!”

George let out a pained groan and stumbled back as he was hit, but he wouldn't go down this easily. He whipped out his pickaxe and, in a split moment decision, lowered the floor below them enough to drop a few meters down. George landed on his feet, pretty proud of himself and looking just a little smug. 

When the two of them dropped down, Dream stumbled and caught himself on the wall in front of him, slamming his palm down just next to George’s head onto the stone. He fought to catch his breath and roll his sore ankles. George, meanwhile, leaned against the stone to avoid Dream crushing him with his chest. 

Once Dream steadied himself, he pressed the tips of his fingers against his mask right where the bridge of his nose would be. He looked for words to describe his level of frustration. “George, what is wrong with you? Now we’re stuck in a hole with no way out unless we tower together. There’s not even enough room for us to fight! What was your plan here?!”

That was a wonderful question. He would love to answer it if Dream wasn't so painfully close to him now. Too much contact was suffocating. He didn’t  _ do  _ that. He scooted a bit to the side, to put some inches between his face and Dream's hand. "I, uh...I mean...My plan was to win and I didn't exactly think beyond that..." He trailed off and fixed his glasses again. It sounded stupid outloud. "I mean, we're still playing. You have to go down for diamonds and I have to kick your ass, so..." He sounded a little pathetic. He could already predict the bullshit people would be saying in the comments. He ran his fingers through his hair.

Moments like this reminded him that he wasn’t up to Dream’s high standards. In his mind, he was far below him. But when this video was released, many others would agree. Per the usual. It didn’t make any of this easy to stomach. 

Dream knocked on the front of his mask a couple times while he tried to ponder a solution, eventually coming to terms with a lot of this having to be cut from the footage. George in front of him was fighting the urge to apologize over and over again. He had no clue what to do, so he just held his sword close to his chest and looked down at his totem of undying necklace. It hung there, small and stone with shiny eyes and endless life buried inside it. 

It’s expression was mocking.

“Look.” Dream took his hand off his mask and waved it in front of himself, talking with his hands remaining a habit even with the little amount of room between them. “Let’s just mine down and see what we hit. If we hit a cave, we can get out of this tiny hole and figure it out from there. If we hit lava, we can just... respawn and I’ll cut it from the footage.” 

Instead of responding, George just kept looking down.

Dream tried to crane his neck in a way that would allow him to look down at George better, to get a read on what his thoughts were, but the mask cut off just enough of his peripheral vision to make it more trouble than it was worth. “What do you think?”

"I mean, to be fair, you cut most of the footage anyway so it's up to you." George shrugged. He made the executive decision to not look up at Dream because it was just too embarrassing. He was still swimming in his idiocy. He kept his eyes trained on the wall to his left. "So...down? Do you want to do it? I can...scoot over or something."

Dream let out a small sigh and removed his hand from the wall, rolling his shoulders before taking out his pickaxe and readjusting. “If I mine your toes, it’s not my fault.” 

“If you mine my toes, I’ll mine yours right back.” He snapped.

Both of them shared before they made the descent.

George let himself fall with the floor, letting Dream guide the process. “You know.” He said. “You always expect me to have this grand plan but I promise you, I’m just winging it all the time.”

“C’mon man, you act like we haven’t been playing together like this for months, I know that.” he said with a playful eyeroll, hoping that it translated through tone. “I know you like the back of my hand.”

“What’s my favorite song?”

Dream shook his head. “I said like the back of my hand. I didn’t say quiz me.” He stopped mining for a split second. “Do you hear that?”

“What?” George winced and readjusted his feet. 

“Water.” Dream frowned. “Running water.”

“Dream, I don’t hear anything.”

He hesitated before shrugging. He went back to mining, and only got about two more meters down before the floor opened up into a tunnel aiming down. Both George and Dream let out cries of panic as they slid down over the stone and off into the air, where they plunged into a terrifyingly deep ravine.

Dream’s instincts kicked in an instant. He grit his teeth and he pulled out a boat. When he was in it and safe, he then reached out for George.

George understood without a second thought. He did well with plans if he wasn't the one to make them, and he did beautifully with sponentaity. He reached back out for Dream as well, catching the fabric of his sleeve and using it to balance himself inside the boat as they tumbled down, down, down into the depths of this ravine. George's glasses flew off for a moment, but he caught them above his head and slipped them back on just as they landed at the bottom. 

The impact shook both of them, but no damage was taken. George didn't realize until they landed that he was still holding Dream's sleeve. He let it go instantly and shook out his hand. "Well." He said brightly. "Another happy landing!"

“Aha, yeah, nice!” He glanced over at George for a moment and gave him a once-over to check he was unharmed before raising a hand for a high five. “That was actually kind of epic, I’m not gonna lie.”

George reciprocated the high five. “Do not cut that out of the footage because that was pretty badass of you.”

“Of course, I  _ am _ pretty badass.” He shrugged his shoulders as he stepped to get out of the boat. However, he underestimated the distance and ended up stumbling over the edge, nearly losing his balance in the process. After waving his arms wildly, he managed to remain upright, fix his balance, and clear his throat. “You didn’t see that.”

“I got an eyeful of  _ something _ , that’s for sure.” George stood up and hobbled out. When he was on solid ground, he looked around in awe. “Damn...this thing is massive.” 

“This is definitely the biggest ravine I’ve seen in a while.” Dream looked up. “Glad to know the sun is still up.”

“Look at all the lava.” George muttered to himself. “This place is insane.” They had landed right in the middle of two massive lava pools, and the heat was making him sweat under the bridge of his glasses. 

“It’s kind of beautiful.” Dream said.

“A vacation hot spot.” George chuckled. 

Dream turned and looked at George. “Hot spot?”

“...because of the lava.”

“That was so bad.” Dream groaned. “You get one more try to say anything about this ravine.”

“Okay. Well, then. What a lovely place to kick your ass!” He turned around and reached for his sword, only to find that it was gone. It must have broken in the shuffle. George’s face fell. “Oh...well then.”

Dream shook his head as he reached to pull out his sword. “In that case...I guess the game is back on. Right?” He cocked his head.

“Is it?” George laughed half-heartedly. He started to back up slowly with his hands up in surrender. “We can always count to ten before restarting. Maybe even give a longer heads-up. We can take our time preparing again! Maybe we could-”

Dream shook his head. “See you on the other side, Georgie!” He smiled as he lunged towards George, swiping hard to try and slash the others chest. His eyes were trained right on his friend’s heart. His swing was perfect in form, strength, and stance.

However, it was lacking in aim. He completely missed his friend, and rather had caught something a little more important than even George’s own chest. His sword snagged right on the others necklace, the totem of undying, and the momentum sent it flying right past George’s head and towards a pool of lava behind him.

Everything moved in slow motion. Both men watched in shock as the necklace landed into the The totem sunk in and sizzled, the eyes glinting at the two men as it slowly dissolved and disappeared into the molten earth.

Dream immediately started yelling as he watched it burn. “No, no, no! No. No! Fuck. Fuck me. Fuck. No, no. No.” He sank to his knees in the direction of the fallen totem. “No…” He groaned heavily as he accepted that the piece of jewelry had been lost for good.

George barely had time to react to any of it. His hands helplessly clutched at his own neck as he watched the necklace burn. The panic from the attack left residue in his head as well - the image of his friend charging at him with such precision was something he wouldn’t forget soon for more than one reason. He walked over to stand where Dream was kneeled. “Um...so...that didn’t cost too much, yeah?” He looked at the bubble in the lava where the totem used to be. “We can get a new one for next time, right? How much was it?”

Dream rubbed his hands up under his mask once, twice, and then readjusted it to fit properly. “No, no, money’s not a problem. They’re a lot cheaper than you would think, it’s just...Fuck.” He sighed and turned his head up to face George. “You’re vulnerable now. We’ll have to stop this video completely. I can’t chase you down and kill you if, you know. You won’t come back.”

“Oh.” George exhaled slowly. “Right.”

Dream pushed himself up off the ground and brushed himself off. “And it’s totally my fault. It was a stroke of bad luck that that happened, but hey. At least we got it on video.” He picked his sword up off the ground, sheathing it as he did. He gave one last longing glance at the lava and then turned back to George. He placed his hand on the other’s shoulder. “Are you okay, man? I nearly took your head off there.” He gave him a crooked smile.

“I’m fine, dude.” Dream’s touch felt like the lava. He pulled away from it after indulging Dream for a bit. “It would have been great content if you did take my head off. Half sad you didn’t.” George glanced over at the boat. “So...now that I’m ‘vulnerable’...what’s the plan?”

Dream paused, thinking about the assortment of things he had. He then started counting on his fingers. “Okay, okay, so...” He started, running a hand through his hair as he came up with a plan. “We have this place for another... six days, so we could probably do what we usually do post-game. We could build some shelter and just wait out the days until we get teleported back.” He explained all of this while moving his hands wildly, subconsciously thinking that it was going to help his words make more sense.

It did make sense to George. “Sounds fine with me. Maybe we can explore a bit. Go on a little adventure or two.”

“Good idea. Hell, maybe we can film some kind of stupid filler video for our channels while we’re at it.” He took another look at the area around them. “I’m thinking we can build a staircase up to the surface and see where we can start building from there...” He stopped in his tracks and reached up for the back of his neck, untying the totem and handing it over to George. “Here.”

George blinked hard. “What?” He shook his head and stepped back. “No, no, I’m not taking that! You need that!” He crossed his arms. “Let’s just build out and make a house like you said. That’s like, barely dangerous at all! You can keep that and I’ll be fine.” He turned around and started looking at the edges of the ravine. “It’s going to be dark soon so we should jump at it.”

George was facing an issue he dealt with a lot - an uncomfortability at Dream’s kindness. He was generous, too generous, and it sometimes scared the absolute shit out of George because he knew that it would get Dream killed. It went hand in hand with George’s utter fear of being the weak link.

Instead of facing any of these thoughts, George started to walk ahead, hoping Dream would drop it. “Look, that section could be easy to turn into stairs!”

“Hey! No!” The second the other had started to walk away, Dream was on his tail in an instant. 

“Oh, look at this stone-”

“George!” He grabbed a portion of the other’s sleeve, forcing the other to slow down. “Seriously, dude, please take the necklace.” With the tone he was using, it seemed more like a demand than a request. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to let up on this. George could see it in how clenched his jaw was. “I would feel a lot better if you had it.”

George could tell that this conversation wouldn’t end any time soon. He knew Dream - and he knew how truly stubborn his man could be. He stopped struggling and turned around, shrugging off the touch. “Here, compromise. We alternate. Okay? If I have it today, you have to have it tomorrow.” He took the necklace and put it on. “See? Happy? You can untwist your panties now, Dream.” He chuckled. 

Inside, he was panicking just a bit. Seeing Dream without the totem made the reality of the situation set in. It had been over a year minimum since they were in a server without enough totems. They hadn’t had the shadow of death on their tails for plenty of years. Now, George had to look at Dream and feel a little sick. “Now you’re naked to the elements.” He joked through the stress. “Next thing we know, you’ll have some more sexy scars.”

Dream scoffed playfully, content with the conditions that were set. Content that everyone was safe. “Okay, George, keep talking about how sexy I am.“ He then took out the blocks he had stored away, starting to place them along the ravine wall as a makeshift staircase. “If I can survive the elements and defeat the dragon with a shock collar on my arm, I think I can survive a few regular, non-shock collar related nights without problem, thank you very much.” 

“Whatever. Acting like you didn’t like the collar.”

“Oh, shit.” Dream paused and scrolled through his inventory on his watch. “You lost your sword, right? Here, take this too.” He pulled out the last of his iron, handing the two bars over to George so he could craft himself a weapon. “It’s nothing fancy but it’ll get us to Stop Number One, yeah?”

“You know you need supplies too, right?” George cocked his eyebrow. “You can’t just give everything to me. I can certainly handle myself.” 

“Oh, no! Two iron! I’ll simply die without it!” Dream waved his hands and rolled his eyes. He began to climb up the staircase, placing blocks as he went.

George followed. He looked down at his chest. “Oh, yeah. Turn off the cameras or no?”

He continued placing the cobble, stopping only for a moment to answer his question with a shrug, “Honestly, it’s up to you. I think it could make a good ‘manhunt gone wrong’ blooper video. Maybe like an extreme survival thing.”

“You really think of everything.”

“I have to.”

Being shorter made him a bit slower, but George did his best to keep the climbing pace. “I think it could be hilarious if you want to. Like some kind of found footage movie.” He chuckled.

Dream smirked. “‘Minecraft Manhunt gone  _ wrong?!  _ Trapped in the Wilderness!’”

“‘Minecraft, but we coded it so we have to build a cabin and survive winter.’”

As they got closer to the top, Dream could hear the sounds of birds and animals again. It gave him some spare comfort. “A part of me wishes that we brought the streaming gear instead. This would be epic Twitch content. Maybe this will be a great test-run for a future challenge.”

"It's good Twitch content until we resort to cannibalism in the woods." George laughed. "Now lead the way. I don't like how low the sun is getting. We have limited time.”

“If we’re resorting to cannibalism, it’s gonna suck for you because I probably don’t taste very good.” They reached the top not too long after, both of them smiling with relief as soon as the grass touched their shoes. “Real question, though.” Dream said. “Do we want to find a village for the night, try to build a makeshift house, or just wait in a hole in the ground? Because we need a plan probably.”

"A village guarantees that we won't need to resort to cannibalism so I don't have to find out how you taste." George said, brushing some dirt and grime off his shirt as he got comfortable on the surface. "It just seems smarter. Shall we?"

Dream waved a hand out at the open landscape. “Alright, let’s go.”

He took a few steps forward and looked back at George expectantly. Since they were technically still recording, he tried to think of a way to mess with him, finally settling on something appropriate. “Are you coming? Do you need me to hold your hand?”

His mouth quirked into a playful smile, and he knew there was a part of him that hoped George would say yes. He was a hands-on man. He had read once about love languages, and he didn’t know how else to vocalize his feelings besides endless levels of touch. Sapnap was used to it. Many others were too. It was just in his nature to like contact, taps and pats and handholds alike. To him, it wasn’t weird or unwarranted. It was just the easiest way to show affection in his mind - to show his friends he still cared, even if they knew it or not.

Sometimes words just weren’t enough.

But George was the opposite. And he proved it with his response.

George laughed at him and sped up a bit to walk next to him. He elbowed him in the side. “In your dreams, Dream.”

Dream’s level of affection had always been something that set off alarms in George, both good and bad. He wasn’t much of a toucher - especially not just with his friends - but for some reason he didn’t feel like he was itching from the inside out when it was Dream doing the touching. It didn’t make it any more comfortable, just simple. Electric. Painful in a different way. 

He also found himself reaching for Dream more than he had reached for anyone else. But that still was a rarity.

As they both continued to walk, George perked up. “Hey. Hey, look!” Just as the sun had started to begin chasing the horizon, he seemed to hit the jackpot. He pointed at a dusting of lights that painted the horizon. “Found one!” 

When George perked up, he turned in the direction of the village. “Oh shit. Nice one.” He glanced over at the other, adjusting his mask as he did. It was a habit, similar to how one would adjust a pair of glasses periodically. 

He looked George up and down, causing the other to raise his eyebrow. “Um...aren’t we going to go?” George asked. 

Dream exhaled and nodded. Without another warning, he started bolting over to the village. “Whoever gets there first picks the house!” He finally cried over his shoulder, flipping George off and letting out a loud victory cry.

“Motherfucker!” George cried. He chased after him, the lights of the village getting closer and closer. As he took off running, he realized exactly how hungry he was and how excited he was to curl up in his own bed. His energy level wasn’t up to what he had been trying to convince himself of.

Dream didn’t even bother to check behind him, charging as fast as he could to reach the first lamp post he could see. Honestly, he didn’t even care about which house they stayed in, but he would think of a way to make it entertaining. It was kind of his job to do exactly that, and he liked to think he was good at it.

He really  _ did  _ think of everything.

He was panting up a storm by the time his finger tips finally brushed the stem of the lamppost, almost falling over in the process. Glad he didn’t twist an ankle, he punched his fist in the air. “Yes! Let’s  _ go! _ ” He threw his arms in the air and hopped around in a makeshift victory dance.

George stumbled up after him, panting. He wiped sweat from his brow and sighed. “Okay, okay...” he exhaled. “Fine. You win.” He stood for a moment leaning against the lamppost. “Congrats.”

When he finally could breathe again, he pushed himself off the lamppost and stood up straight. “Don’t pick something stupid.”

Dream let out a devilish laugh, tongue between his teeth, and began walking off into the village, rubbing his hands together like a villain in a kids movie. George groaned at the theatrics. He tapped on his mask a few times as he glanced around, taking in the architecture of the village, “Okay, okay. House, house, house. A good house...”

He was trying to make a big show out of deciding, but he already knew the exact house he wanted. He always knew which kind of house to choose, no matter which friends were streaming with him. He knew what annoyed each of them. George’s, though, was his favorite. He had a plan from the beginning. 

Something that would get under George’s skin. Something he should totally have seen coming.

He pointed to the house directly to his right. A tiny three meters by three meters house with a potted plant inside, a clean bed, and literally nothing else. Two windows, one torch. It was as simple and cramped as they could come. “That one.” He turned to George and crossed his arms. “We can stay in that one.”

“Oh, fuck no!” George cried. “There is no way that I am going to stay in a fucking closet with you!” He was almost laughing from the sheer ridiculousness of it all. This wasn’t a surprise. He knew something stupid was coming. “Now come on, choose a real house for us.”

Dream took one glance back at the house, then back to George. He stared for a minute before pointing his thumb back at the house. “This one.” Without missing a beat, he stepped up to the door and swung it open. “I won the race, I got to choose the house. Those are the rules.” 

He took one last glance at George before walking inside. It was certainly cramped - he had to duck a bit to stand - but it was warm and dry and nice. A house was a house to him. “Welcome to El Casa de Dream!” 

George walked over with his head in his hands. “Of course, you’re serious.” He muttered. He stepped up to the doorway and stood in the entrance, tapping his foot and leaning on the doorframe. “‘El Casa De Dream’, eh? So where is George gonna sleep then?” His eyes scanned over to the bed. “I’ll need something soft if I’m taking the floor.”

Dream was actually a little bit shocked that George was even entertaining the idea, but he also wouldn’t put it past him to play with his feelings then pull the wool over his eyes and think of some grand joke to send his mind spiraling. He blinked out of his thoughts for a second and gestured at the bed. “What, you don’t think we’ll both fit a twin?” He said with full confidence that it would warrant a reaction worthy of keeping in the footage.

George’s cheeks tinted pink. “What?!” He sputtered. His nervous laughter sounded a little too desperate out loud. “Yeah, no, just for that? You can room alone.” George threw his hands up in surrender and turned to leave the house. He could totally find another. He would just see Dream in the morning.

Dream immediately lost his mind laughing, doubling over and wheezing like he just got the wind kicked out of him. He tried to raise his hand towards the other, a pathetic attempt at reaching. “No, George!” More laughter. “Don’t go!” He took a deep breath, trying to wear out the giggles. He wiped away a tear that was forming under his mask and adjusted it appropriately. “George! I was kidding!  _ Kidding! _ ”

He followed after him in a half-hearted attempt to calm him down. “We can get a different house if you want. I just wanted to fuck with you, man.” He said with a smile still plastered on his face, the corners of his eyes scrunched beneath the mask. “Or I can just go grab another bed from some other house in case you’ve grown attached to this one.” 

This man just didn’t stop.

George shook his head. “You’ve lost your chance, Dream, now I have to go sleep in some random house with some random stranger!” He called back over his shoulder. Dream’s laugh was contagious - he couldn’t stop the giggles bubbling up inside him. “Oh, the tragedy of it all.” 

He looked around the village and decided on a two story house that looked relatively empty. “Oh, no! Here I go! Going alone!”

Dream threw his hands in the air in defeat, giving his head a shake before quickly following. He turned and practically jogged more enthusiasm than necessary, and whined. “George, don’t be like that.” He did a tiny jog to catch up to the other one, patting him on the head. “You know you can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“I’m well aware I can’t.” He jumped from the physical contact and ran his fingers through his hair. “Now, come on. We need to pass out.”

Upon entering the house, he discovered it was empty. It actually looked like it had been abandoned for a while. It wasn’t dusty or musty, just stale. A simple stale house. There was a crafting table and stone cutter on the bottom floor, untouched for a little too long. A ladder took the two up to the top floor, where there was a chest and two beds.

When Dream got to the top floor, he felt a little sad about there being two beds. These beds, plus the other ones abandoned throughout the village? That was more than enough for Sapnap or Bad to be here. He missed them. But it was better that no one joined them this time, though. Less mouths to feed. Less people to worry about.

He sorted through his inventory, noting that all he had was a single loaf of bread for sustenance. He glanced over at George, who looked a lot more exhausted than he did, and held out the loaf of bread after he summoned it. “Here, you’ve gotta be hungry by now.”

George was sitting on the edge of one of the beds, enjoying being off his feet for longer than a few seconds. He was deep in his own head when Dream spoke to him. He perked up, blinking hard. “What? Oh, thanks. What are you eating?” He reached out to take it.

Dream shrugged in response, making his way to the ladder before the other could protest any take-backsies or propositions regarding the food. He kicked his foot down on the top rung, giving George a small salute before he climbed down. “I’m about to find out.”

“Wait!” George sprung off the bed. “You can’t go out alone! Especially without this!” He scrambled to take off the totem and hand it to Dream. “Take this. Or let me come with you. Or both.”

Dream sighed and rolled his eyes, descending the ladder another few rungs. “No, you’re gonna stay here, I’m gonna find some carrots or a pig or something, I’m gonna come back, then we’re gonna go to bed. That’s the plan.” Another rung down. “I’ll be fine, just stay here and relax. You look really exhausted.”

“Dream-”

“Please.” He said again, his voice firm. “Rest.”

George bit the inside of his cheek. He taught hard for a moment, before he reached over and leaned in close to put the totem on Dream himself. “Fine. But here. And you can’t convince me otherwise so don’t even try.” He said. He leaned away from Dream and pushed up his glasses.

The gears in Dream’s brain almost halted to a stop momentarily, put off by George suddenly coming closer to him. Typically if George went in for anything, it was for the kill. The odd little sign of the affection was new, even without any touch. When he realized what was actually happening, though, he was too late to protest. With the totem already on his neck, he sighed. “Fine. But stay. Here. Seriously. I won’t be gone for long.”

He gave George one last look and then climbed down the ladder.

George sat there on the ground by the ladder for a moment, lost in his head again. Finally, he stood up and went back to his bed. 

He took the moment alone to take off his glasses. He rubbed his eyes and let out an exhausted groan. Even though he sounded annoyed and looked destroyed, he was happy. He liked when things went wrong with Dream. They were some of his best memories and their best times. He liked winging it with Dream. He liked not having a plan. And it was selfish to think, but he was happy it was just them this time. It had been a while since just the two of them went on an adventure like this - if one could even call it an adventure. It brought him more joy than he would feel comfortable admitting. 

He started to eat, instantly feeling better, and just decided to look out the nearest window and watch the woods around the village. As George was cozy inside, Dream was busy running around throughout the village to trade or snatch whatever he could. Prepping for the long term was now on his mind. A perfect plan, full inventory. That’s all he needed.

And to keep George safe. That was the goal.

When he made it back to the house he was holding an abundance of potatoes and wheat, interested in nothing more than to finally eat something. He instantly got to work on the crafting table, hollering up as he began setting up furnaces. “Honey, I’m home!”

George put his glasses back on and slid down the ladder. "Well, well, well. Looks like your trip was successful."

Dream turned to George, mouth full of bread, and held out another loaf with his other hand, knowing the one from before wasn’t enough. He finally swallowed and said, “Well, depends. If I was looking for tasty food, I'd say I failed.”

George took the bread, a smile playing at his lips. "All food is tasty food if you've been as stupid as we've been today." As he started to dig in, he paused eating to say, "Remember. Save some. We have six damn days still."

Dream rolled his eyes. “You know we’ve had more food than this in manhunt before, right? There’s no way we’d seriously die of  _ starvation _ of all things.” That’s when he remembered something very important and glanced downwards, grabbing the necklace off of his chest. He tugged it off and handed it over. “Here. I’m not letting you forget this. It’s still your day.”

George held up his hands. "No, no! It's technically your day now. Today is over. Keep it."

Dream’s face fell. His jaw clenched. “Well, what if...a creeper spawns in the house? What then? Idiot. Take it.”

"What if you need it for that?" George cocked an eyebrow. "Or what if a spider gets in and goes straight into your bed? You need it, Dream, take it." He bat the necklace away.

Dream huffed in mock irritation. He was on the verge of pouting. “Yeah? Well, what if an enderman makes it in and thinks you’re looking at it? I’m the one with the face mask here, George, they won’t suspect me.”

“Endermen are not that smart!”

“But one already totally kicked your ass! You’ll need this totem in case I sleep through the attack.” He set the half loaf of bread on the table and put both hands on the necklace as if he was ready to put a collar on a rabid wolf. 

"But what if your dramatics attract every zombie to our door! Wouldn't be surprised if that happened at this point." George cried. He slipped into a defensive stand, just in case Dream decided to jump. "It looks handsome on you, Dream, you should keep it." He teased, finishing it off with a laugh.

“What? George!” He tried to make his nervous chuckle sound like an intentional one best he could. He took a single step forward and yelled. “ _ Just wear the damn necklace _ !” On cue, he jumped forward, hoping that he was fast enough to slip the necklace on the other.

George tried to slide out of the way, but he was overtaken by the taller man much too quickly. Before he could even realize what was happening, the necklace was around his neck. "Hey!" He cried.

Dream took a very quick step back and laughed triumphantly. “There! It’s on you! Now you have to keep it!”

He glanced at the ladder for a brief moment and then bolted for it, trying to run from George before he attempted anything to give it back. And he was successful at first, too. He made it up the whole ladder until his foot slipped last second, causing him to fall face-first onto the upstairs floor. He braced himself on the fall, mostly unharmed but still jostled. “Dammit…”

George crawled up after him, laughing. "How graceful of you." Right when he was about to walk past Dream, he slipped the necklace off of himself and lowered it onto him. He pat his shoulder for good measure. "It's all yours, buddy.”

“No.” Dream didn’t hesitate with a strike back, reaching a hand up and pulling on George’s leg, hard. When he toppled backwards, Dream stumbled into a low stance while trying to take the necklace off at the same time. “It’s all  _ yours _ !” 

He eventually got it with the price of throwing his balance a little too far forward and just propelling himself onto the other. The necklace left his hand and hit the ground next to them first. Dream barely caught himself in the fall, nearly crushing George to death. George's eyes were closed, ready for impact. 

But when they didn't hit, and he opened his eyes, he found himself inches from Dream's mask. 

George's glasses were askew. His one uncovered blue eye was wide and filled with complete embarrassment. His cheeks flooded with pink. "Um..." He was very aware of every inch of himself, every inch of Dream. "You, uh....you missed. With the necklace...uh..."

Dream groaned and started to push the front of himself, shaking his head as he quipped. “No, George, it was actually my plan all along to lose my balance and make a fool of myself.  _ I know I missed! _ ”

He huffed and looked next to where his palm was resting and noticed how close the fallen totem was. “Because...now I can do this!” He said quickly and made a motion for the totem, managing to unravel and slip over the others neck in the mere blink of an eye. When he realized he succeeded, he sat up straight, throwing his fist into the air. “Yes! In your face, George, you won’t be able to get me again!” The loud sounds of his self-applause echoed in the room.

George just kind of lay there in shock for a moment. The necklace didn't register. When he finally started to compose himself, he fixed his glasses and smooth his shirt. He sat up and started to scoot away to get out from under his friend. His stomach wouldn't stop flipping. "You, uh...you got me. You win. But you still have to have it tomorrow. First thing in the morning."

Dream finally caught onto what his friend was doing and brought himself upright, brushing himself off. He chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, I know. That’s the deal. Got it.” He held out his hand towards George, offering to help him up off the ground. He grinned lopsidedly.

George didn't take it. He decided to just push himself up onto his feet and fix his shirt. "Well, we should probably get some sleep." He forced a smile. 

Dream smiled back.

After a beat of silence, George followed it up with, "Thank you. For everything today."

The energy was off. George was guarded. He was too tense. Too terse. Dream caught onto the weird mood right away and pulled his hand back. It must have been all the contact. He unbuckled his chest plate and followed all of the cues to get ready for bed. “Of course, dude.” He worried about his bottom lip between his teeth.

Then he turned away.

Dream kicked off his shoes and took off his hoodie before picking up both the beds and putting them next to each other in the center of the room. They always slept like that, and a little awkwardness wouldn’t change that. As he set it up, he was forcing himself not to think too hard on the situation. He was trying to chalk it up to them both having a far too long day. And it probably was. Too much contact, too little time. George could get weird about that, even if it was an accident.

It was impossible for Dream’s negative thoughts to not poke at his brain, though. It was hard to ensure he was pleasing someone that was so hard to read.

George crawled into his own bed and faced the far wall, staring away and burying himself into his sheets. He tried to rein in his thoughts and sort them through, but it was an ill-fated attempt. It wasn't going to happen. But hopefully sleep would come quickly, and it would be easier to explain what he was feeling tomorrow. And he could stop being such a mess around his best friend.

Dream crawled himself up under the covers and turned over to face his side of the wall. His pillow bumped his mask annoyingly, and he really was not in the mood to deal with it. Knowing he’d probably wake up first anyways, he slipped it off and set it to the side quietly. 

Once he was settled into his spot, he yawned and mumbled. “Good night, George.” He pulled his blanket up to his chin.

George took off his glasses and set them aside. “Good night, Dream.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kind comments so far! I'm glad you enjoy!

**DAY TWO**

**Objective: Explore**

**Totem: Dream**

George was a heavy sleeper. Without a force of nature or a firm hand, he would never stir. It was a part of his personality - he slept hard, talked a lot while doing it, and then would only wake up if a bomb exploded. But for some reason, thanks to all of the mess that occurred yesterday, he ended up waking with the sun and it frustrated himself to no end. He slammed his pillow over his head and groaned. "Dammit." He muttered.

Before he covered his eyes, though, he noticed a bright colored blob right above him.

George slid his pillow out of the way, showing his groggy face, heavy eyes and pouting lips. "What do you want?" He groaned. He squinted as the sun shined into his eyes. He reached over with one hand and fumbled over the bedside table for his glasses. "Why are you up so early?"

Dream had a pillow raised above his head, a sinister smile on his face.

“Dream-”

In that instant, he swung the pillow at George’s face, watching it collide with a dull ‘whup’ sound. “Morning, Sleepyhead” He dusted his hands together like he had just got done with a hard day's work. “Early bird gets the worm, George. If we were playing Manhunt, you’d be dead.”

"I'd be dead?!" He cried, sitting up straight. His hair stuck out in wild positions. He grabbed his glasses and put them on. "Shut up. How long have you been up?"

He gave a small shrug. “I dunno, an hour maybe?” He said nonchalantly. “I didn’t wanna wake you up, so I just went and tried to trade with the villagers while you slept. Not a single one of them had a good trade, by the way.”

"So what's the plan for today then?" He swung his legs off the bed and stood up. As he stretched, he let out a huge yawn. 

Dream pursed his lips as he began to think, tapping the side of his mask idly. In all honesty, he really didn’t want to do anything that could be potentially lethal, but they couldn’t just sit here for the next week and act like they weren’t wasting their time. They  _ were _ still filming a video. And they needed something that was worth watching. He was technically still at work.

A few ideas ran through his head before he caught one. It wasn’t a clever one, but it was a start. It was better than nothing. “Why don’t we try to go explore a bit, maybe find a temple or something? You know? Like we get some loot and maybe just make a video pillaging a bunch of temples for fun.”

This seemed like it was one of Dream’s safer ideas, much to George’s chagrin, but he wasn’t complaining. “Fine by me.” George turned to make his bed and get his stuff together. “We can ask around to see if a desert is nearby.”

“Sounds good. We’ll probably find the most structures in a desert statistically so let’s search there first.”

When he was finally as ready as Dream was, George took the necklace off and handed it out to him. He did it mindlessly, without a second thought. He didn’t even look at him while he did it. And Dream didn’t even look down at what the other presented, he simply slipped on his chest plate and headed for the ladder.

George followed him and slipped the necklace over his head before he could grab on. “Let’s hurry up, then.” He walked past Dream, shooting him a look over his shoulder before sliding down the ladder to the ground floor.

When Dream felt the pendant hit his chest he pouted. He deflated. What a defeat. He was hoping George wouldn’t remember that it was his day. George could be forgetful like that. He could be forgetful in a lot of ways. That’s why he needed this necklace. He was going to get this thing to stay in George’s possession even if he died in the process - which he wouldn’t, he was better than that, but the thought still stood.

He climbed down the ladder and gathered the rest of his things, making sure to pack all the food once they were on the ground floor and put it into his inventory. Once he was packed and set, he went and held open the door. “After you, madame.”

George rolled his eyes. “What a gentleman.” He deadpanned. He walked out of the house and instantly felt amazing standing out in the morning sunshine. The entire village looked different in the daylight. He could hear bees buzzing distantly. The moos and oinks of creatures in the fields sounded in his ears. “Wonderful.” He grinned. “This’ll be nice, yeah? Two bro’s, raiding a temple.”

Dream snorted and exited the door after him. “Why’d you have to say it like that?” He shook his head and laughed. “You make it sound so forced.” He double-checked his pockets to make sure he had everything before walking down the path next to the other. “It sounds like I’m holding a gun to your head and forcing you to walk around with me. The viewers are going to think you’re my hostage.”

“As fun as that sounds, I prefer my head gunless and my life free.” George chuckled. “So, are we asking around or just trusting your innate Minecraft instincts?”

Dream scoffed and waved a hand at the other. “Unless you wanna hunt down a woodland mansion - which no we don’t, by the way - then these villagers aren’t going to help us with shit.” He absentmindedly adjusted his mask.

“I’m going to convince you to go to a woodland mansion sooner rather than later, mark my words.” George said.

“We’ll just do what we always do and wing it. It’ll be more interesting that way. Plus, you know I can get us through basically anything.”

“Well, debatable. But alright. Let’s wing it.” He started walking towards the rising sun, heading east towards some low hills covered in flowers and towards the bright beautiful dawn sky.

Dream rolled his eyes dramatically. George kept picking the absolute worst time to do anything reckless, and it kept putting Dream on edge. Whatever, they’d probably be fine on this trip at the very least. And if they found themselves in a perilous situation, he would handle it like he always did. He could always handle it.

They walked, and talked, and then walked some more. They walked for almost an hour by the time they finally saw the edge of a desert in the far distance. They felt the temperature shift in the air before either of them actually laid eyes on the sandy expanse. When Dream finally spotted it, he shook George’s shoulder and pointed frantically. “George, look, we found it! Look over there!” He was more excited than the situation called for.

“You’re very excited for someone just finding a damn desert.” George muttered. “But still. Thank god.” He wiped sweat from his brow. “I was getting tired of seeing the same trees five times over.” 

“See, that’s a reason to get excited!” Dream cried. “Come on, don’t be a downer.”

George  _ was _ getting just as excited as Dream, weirdly enough. Dream was contagious - his laughter, his excitement. His emotions were so full, it was hard not to reciprocate them. “Let’s not waste any time, then.” George said. He triple-checked that his camera was still on before walking ahead. “First one to spot the temple gets the first pick of the chests!”

“Oh, you’re on.” He agreed to the challenge and picked up the pace towards the desert, having the advantage of a longer stride on his side. He hoped his height would be an advantage too - because damn, he was greedy. And he wanted his first pick.

When they had finally breached the edge of the desert, he tried to keep his eyes peeled for any sort of temple, or structure, or village, or anything that could be an indicator of life. What he actually found, though, was wind throwing sand into his face. Thanks to the mask, his eyes were safe. His mouth, however, was now filled with grainy, salty regrets. He began sputtering and making somewhat alarming noises to try and recover, ultimately just looking like a fool as he coughed up a beach.

George ran after him and ended up in a similar state, albeit with less facial protection. He spit out some sand and pushed up his glasses. Right when he was about to speak, another gust of hot wind burnt his skin. After clearing out his own nose and mouth, he pulled his shirt collar up to cover himself. “Well. This is not the best position we could find ourselves in. I think I have sand where sand should never be.”

“Ew.” He giggled and quickly put his hood up, tightening the strings to block his mouth from the bombardment of particles and tying them in a neat little bow knot. It made it intensely harder to move his head to look at things but seeing as how it was still the morning, he had no reason to worry about sneak attacks right now.

“What are you  _ doing?”  _ George raised an eyebrow.

“It’s protection.”

“It’s stupid.”

“Damn, George. Harsh. Maybe you should get your own mask instead of clout goggles. I’m fully protected over here. No sunburn, no sand.” He said, pointing at his setup to prove it.

“You look like a thumb.” George giggled. “I’ll stick to the shades, thank you very much.”

“Thumbs can be a little sexy.”

George ignored that completely. Instead, he scanned the horizon with squinted eyes. “Hmm...” 

“Okay, dilemma. I, uh, can’t see.” Dream’s voice was muffled in his sweatshirt fabric. He brushed sand off of the camera on his chest. “George? I don’t think I can see.”

While Dream was struggling, George’s eyes suddenly got stuck on what looked like two square structures sticking out of the sand in the far distance. He could only assume it was one thing. “Well, while you enjoy your full protection, I’m going to the temple!” He gave a little mock salute before bolting it towards the towers.

“Wait! I can’t fucking see!” From Dream’s perspective, one second George was there and the next he wasn’t. He immediately started chasing after the other. The sand was too fluid for him to run properly and he was running blind, so he accepted defeat with the chests - much to his chagrin. “Get back here, George!” 

George reached the temple even faster than he expected. He turned around when he touched the stone of one of the towers and had to hunch over laughing as Dream flopped and floundered behind him. The sand was hard to run on, sure, but this was just ridiculous. “Bow to the winner, Dream!” He cried. He threw his hands up in victory.

Dream finally made it to where his friend was, too sweaty and too tired. He started to untie his hood. “You wish.” He grumbled. He shook his head to make sure he didn’t have leftover hoodie hair and looked into one of the many doorways of the temple. “Watch there be no good treasure in the basement.”

George shrugged. “Or there could be the coolest stuff ever. But don’t worry, I’ll leave you some iron.” 

“How generous of you, George.” He rolled his eyes.

He was grinning way too big up at Dream. “Now come on.” He looked around before starting to walk in and head right for the center of the room.

As they both entered, they were pleased to find no monsters inside. The familiar pattern on the ground welcomed them. The skylight made it look like the orange and blue shapes on the ground were glowing. As common and boring as temples might be, both men had to agree that they had a wonderful aura to them. They felt ethereal.

Dream whipped out his pickaxe and twirled it in his hand. “I’m gonna go down first, okay? I have the necklace so it’s the safest option. Obviously.”

“Yeah, yeah.” George stepped aside to let him work. “Be safe.”

Dream broke a corner block, catching it to ensure it didn’t hit the pressure plate below. He then jumped down. He landed on shaky legs, but smiled smugly to himself when he saw he only lost one heart. 

When he looked over to destroy the plate, the floor wasn’t what he expected at all. It was sand. He had landed in sand. Confused, he called up to George. “Hey, this temple’s messed up! I think the loading bugged out, be careful coming down!”

“Okay!” George was working on digging down on one of the side walls of the drop. “Is everything still down there?” He called, getting closer and closer. 

“George?” Dream called out again. “Dude, there aren’t any chests.”

“What?” His brow furrowed. “Damn, of course the one we find is fucked up.”

Dream looked at the four empty spots for chests around them, then back at the floor. “It seems like it just didn’t generate the floor right. There’s probably no TNT down here either...but I’ll check just in case. With our luck, we’ll get blown up.” He looked up at George, who was safe in the wall just a meter above him.

He squatted down and wrapped his fingers under the pressure plate, removing it with a pop and that was that.

Until the floor started shaking. 

He watched the sand shift beneath his feet and realized quickly that the floor was caving in. Sand was starting to disappear beneath him, and he realized that this must be why the generation was messed up. There must be a cave under them. His eyes widened in panic. He had nothing to catch himself. He was screwed.

He just hoped the fall wouldn’t be far.

George didn’t even hesitate the second he saw the sand slipping away. His first instinct was to reach out and grab the closest hand to him and hold tightly as he could. “Hang on!” He cried. He secured himself on his little edge as the world shook and collapsed under them. 

When it was all over, George was left dangling Dream over an empty dark precipice. George was breathing hard, his grip painfully tight. When it was all finally quiet, George smirked despite himself. “Told you that you needed the necklace today.”

Dream quickly reached his other arm over and grabbed George, gripping so hard that he wouldn’t be surprised if it hurt. He looked down, regrettably, and his heart dropped. He might have peed himself. He was trying to fight back his panic, knowing damn well that if he freaked out now it wouldn’t do any good. “George- George, please, let me on that ledge and pull me up! Pull me  _ up _ , pull me  _ up _ , George,  _ pull me up _ !”

George tried. He really, really did. The fear in Dream’s voice filled him up with adrenaline and he pulled with all his might. He was close, too. Dream was almost close enough to grab on to George’s shoulders to be pulled up.

But then, his knee slipped on loose sandstone. 

It happened in slow motion. His knee was suddenly off balance. Then his body was leaned forward just an inch too far. And then he fell forward, his forehead smacking against Dream’s mask. That’s when he fell, wind rushing past him, into the void below, his hand still not letting go of Dream’s.

Dream heard a struggle, a scream, wind, and then nothing. No light, no sound, just black nothing.

He didn’t open his eyes. He actually had never closed them. Instead, it was like the world just showed up in front of his jade-toned eyes again. When his vision returned, and his consciousness broke through, he saw himself horizontal along the ground, staring into a patch of sky through a roof far above him. The edges of his vision were still blurred. He sat up slowly, wincing at the pain he felt at the back of his head. 

His last memory slowly came back to him, causing his eyes to fill with fear. “George?”

George was laying on his back, staring at the sliver of sunlight above. His breathing was labored, and his entire body was bathed in pain, but he was okay. His glasses had fallen off somewhere in the mess, and his supplies were all around him. He hadn’t moved since he opened his eyes. His one arm that had been holding Dream lay by his face. He inhaled deeply before answering. “Here.” He croaked out. He turned his head to try to find Dream. “Are you good?”

Dream looked down at the floor as he reached his hand up, finally touching the spot that hurt the most to make sure there was no blood. “...I think I died.” He looked over to where his friend lay, trying to see how badly the other was hurt. “That’s always... sobering.” He commented, trying to will his limbs to move under him.

“Congrats on coming back.” George tried to manage a laugh but only ended up coughing as he forced himself to start sitting up. He looked over to Dream and let himself enjoy a moment of relief that his friend was fine before looking down at his busted body. “I think I was pretty close to that myself.” He winced as he tried to put weight on his hands while pushing himself up. 

When he finally was sitting, he glanced around. “Do you see my glasses?”

Dream shifted his weight and slowly stood upright, looking around the room's floor to the best of his ability. “I don’t see... anything.” He muttered as his eyes slowly trailed down the edges of the sandstone below them, up the walls and finally around the room. “Hey, uh... where are we?”

George slowly got himself into his feet. He swayed for a moment before finding his balance. “Um...” He started to look around, noticing the weird structure curling in around and above them. “I have no clue...” He clutched his sore side and turned around in a slow circle. “I’ve never actually seen anything like this before.”

Dream squinted at the ceiling marks as well, not understanding at all what any of it meant. He took a few steps forward and felt something hit the tip of his boot and skid against the ground. When he looked down, he saw George’s clout glasses, arms open and slightly scuffed. He picked them up and called over. “Found your dumb glasses.”

George perked up and hobbled over. “Hell yeah. Thanks.” 

While he walked over, though, his own shoe hit something amongst the sand and rubble. He looked down at it, and his eyes seemed to not even process it. He cocked his head and leaned down to look at it. It was a part of a block he had never before. “Dream? Look at this.” He picked up the white chunk in his hands. “Looks like a fucking igloo wall, yeah? It’s just smooth and white and...I don’t know, look at it.”

That stopped literally any other thought Dream was having in that moment. “Wait- what? An igloo? Of all smooth and white materials, you chose an igloo wall?” He couldn’t help but make fun of the other, his giggles slowly turning into a laugh slowly turning into a deflating balloon. He hunched over with his hands on his knees. 

George just stood there, deadpan with a blank face as he held the chunk in his hands. He knew that it was better to let Dream get it out. “When you’re done with your laugh, I do need my glasses.”

After a hard few knee slaps, Dream took in a deep breath and held out the glasses. “Here, oh my god...Igloo, George, what the fuck are you talking about.” He questioned, going to grab it from his friend's hands.

They traded objects. George went to slip on his glasses, but winced at the pain. He opted for just pushing them up on his head instead. It was dark enough anyway. “Okay, look. It’s weird, right? It’s like...light. And it looks all weird. I don’t know, man, just look at it!”

The second the object touched his hand, he immediately knew it wasn’t a rock. At least, not any rock that he knew of. “You’re right, it is really light...definitely does not looks like a fucking igloo, though.” He paused for a second, squinting at the piece. That’s when, upon further inspection, he realized it wasn’t a piece of rubble like he assumed. “Actually, it kind of looks like a... a bone, you know?” He muttered, looking at it from different angles. “Look...look, there’s holes. Bones have the same thing.” He pointed at one side of the surface.

“A bone?” George squinted his eyes and leaned in closer. “But it’s like a piece of one. Like it would have to be huge.”

Dream tossed it back and forth in his hands like it was a hackysack or a football. “Are there even mobs in this game that can grow.... that... big...holy shit, George.” He raised his head up as his speech slowed and realized what they were standing in. 

What he originally just brushed off as pillars or decoration he now realized were massive bones, a rib cage to be specific. It was the entire room. They were standing in the middle of it. He shook George’s shoulder and pointed.

George looked up and his mouth dropped. He had no words. The bones were huge, curling in like fingers ready to crush the two men flat. In that moment, George also realized how massive this room was. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, the bones and walls of the cave became clearer and clearer. It was like no cavern he had ever been in before. 

He turned and looked up at Dream. “So...where are we?”

“I have no clue. I’ve never seen anything like this before.” He replied, his eyes falling on a much-too-large door across the room. “The server is fresh. It should have been restarted when I bought it. No one is pranking us. I didn’t think this was something that could even generate.” He took a few steps towards the door as he spoke. “Unless you’re pranking me, George, which you totally could have done overnight.”

“Dream, you’re great and all, but I wouldn’t have put in all this effort for a Manhunt server.” George followed him. “I don’t hear any mobs either. No other people, nothing else alive down here. It’s giving me the creeps.”

Dream gasped like the over dramatic bastard he is, placing his hand on the door in front of him and turning to look at George, “George, you wouldn’t go out of your way to make a temple trap for me? I’m hurt.”

He grabbed the two large iron handles on the door and began to pry them open. “If you asked me to build you a giant desert temple.... Subsystem? Thing? I would do that for you, no hesitation, no questions asked.”

“Is this your way of saying you built this for me? I’m flattered.” George sighed. He leaned over and grabbed the door closest to him and yanked it open. “If you wanted to impress me, you didn’t have to kill a fucking dinosaur.”

“Actually, I killed all the dinosaurs. I hunted them to extinction for you, George.” He joked, using his now free hand to pull out his sword in case there were any sneaky mobs hiding behind the doors. “I did it as a proclamation of my undying love.” He said, giggling like he had just whipped out the world’s most clever pun. “Undying. Get it? I killed them.”

In the most deadpan, empty voice, George responded. “Oh, you’re so clever.” He walked past Dream and into the hallway. It was impossible to see to the end. “Do you have any torches?” He asked. “I have no clue how far this goes.”

Dream pulled up his inventory and pulled out a torch. “And the light isn’t helping. This is definitely going to be a mess.”

The tunnel was long and bare all except for the intricate paintings on the ceiling. There was an array of other doorways along the sides, none of them looking the slightest bit inviting. “Okay, this is...actually a little worrying. How did we not know about shit like this?”

“Was there some kind of update we didn’t hear about? Or did you get this server from some defective bullshit place?” 

“No!” He cried. “I got it from a normal place! This is supposed to be a normal thing!”

George looked around. He had a bad feeling in his gut. “Do you, uh, want to keep walking or do you want to go through a door? The doors are my call but it’s up to you.”

Dream shrugged. “I don’t mind. We came here to explore right? Take your pick.” He gestured the torch outwards, making the shadows dance on the walls. The entire situation was a little frightening, in his opinion. It felt like they stumbled head first into a horror film and it was going to end with them being cursed by a mummy or whatever. Something just wasn’t sitting right with him and it was putting him on edge. “Just make sure you keep your guard up.”

George entered a room without any abandon, much to Dream’s chagrin. “What did I just say?!” Dream cried. He had walked in after the other, practically looming over him with his guard up, ready to attack or block anything that tried to stop them.

But George had no reservations. He was lucky enough to find the room small and empty, except for a chest with a few diamonds. “Well, if every room is like this, this shouldn’t be that bad!” He said brightly. He was smiling his usual adorable smile, and held up the diamonds to show Dream. “Things are looking up, yeah?”

Dream’s mouth opened in disbelief. “No way.” He turned around, looking out the door they came through. “Are all of the rooms loaded like this?” He headed back out to the hallway and into the room directly across from the last.

He slowly pushed open the door, making sure he wasn’t walking into a room full of mobs or traps or whatever else could be a threat down here. When he confirmed that the coast was clear, he headed inside. He was sure of the fact he’d find something better than a few diamonds.

Sadly, that was not the case. In fact, the room didn’t have anything in it at all. Just more ceiling paintings, cobwebs, wall carvings, the usual. He held out his arms like he had been betrayed and looked back through the two doors to where George was. “There’s nothing even here!”

George laughed so hard his cheeks turned pink. "Damn, Dream, that's some rough luck." He motioned Dream out of the room and pointed down the hall. "Let's go. This is fun." Before he put away his diamonds, he handed one to Dream. "One for the road, buddy." 

Dream turned the diamond over in his hands as George explored, still keeping his attention out for any possible danger. George walked down the hall a bit before picking a random door. He walked in again with no care. The room was empty except for a table. He let out a little disappointed hmph before closing the door. "Well. Not every room can be a winner."

Dream glanced up and down at his friend, who looked incredibly worse for wear. He walked over to George and looked down at him. “You haven’t healed up and yet you keep slamming doors open like traps and creepers don’t exist.” He jokingly scolded and flicked the others' forehead. “You need to be more careful.”

George rubbed his forehead. “I’ll be fine!” He scoffed. “I’m fine right now, actually. I’m more worried about what happens when we try to get out of here.” He walked ahead and glanced at more doors and more rooms. The expanse of this hallway was starting to get to him. He turned and looked at Dream. He worried his bottom lip and sighed. "Might I ask how you're feeling? You kind of, well. You died."

Dream was about to make a sarcastic comment when the reality of the situation hit him like a truck. “George! Why do you ask me shit like that?! Now I’m wondering if it’s my place to play god with these stupid necklaces.”

“Not this again.” George sighed. 

He over-dramatically put a hand to his forehead, his obvious smile trying to force itself back, just visible below his mask. “Who are we to play god, George? Why do we make the rules, George?” He grabbed his friend by the shoulders and shook him theatrically, eventually roping him into a soul-crushing bear hug. “Why do we get the immortality pass, George?!”

“Because you paid for it.” George's voice was muffled in Dream’s chest. He struggled to pull away, a small laugh escaping him. “Chill out. I just wanted to make sure you were feeling okay.” He smiled up at Dream. “But I’ll take your stupidity as a yes.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, I have a tiny headache, but nothing serious...” He shifted his arms for a second and then pulled away. “You shouldn’t be worrying about me, you’re the one with half-a-heart here.” He snarked before stepping back and continuing down the hallway. Dream smirked to himself and called over his shoulder. “You should keep that, by the way. You’ll need it. It looks better on you anyways.”

George stood there, confused and dumbfounded, until he looked down and his face turned pink. There was the totem, slipped on him during the hug. “Hey! Dream! How did you - When did you -“ George rushed to follow him. “You bastard.” He grumbled. 

“You’re welcome!” He grinned.

George shook his head. “It’s your day. We promised.”

“Humor me, alright? Just a little.”

“Whatever. But I’m not happy about it.”

And on they went.

As the pair continued to walk down the hall, George was starting to get worried. Everything was so repetitive. The idea of never getting out was starting to be a creeping fear of his. “Dream...what the hell is down here?”

Dream was completely unfazed by the question, not even looking at George when he responded in a deadpan monotone voice. “I don’t know, George, it’s almost like we’ve both seen the exact same thing so far.” Dream squinted into the tunnel, vision impaired by the darkness and by his mask. He couldn’t see much, but he could just barely make out the shape of a huge door at the end of the hall. “I think I see something. C’mon.”

George followed without hesitation. The door that came into view was large, made of iron and obviously untouched for far too long. Cobwebs covered the door, but there weren't any signs of spiders. “Well.” George said. “This just gets weirder.” He leaned in, and tapped a knuckle on the door. A loud echoing sound responded. “It’s probably safe. Don’t hear anything scary.”

Dream looked George dead in the eye before kicking the door as hard as he could with the heel of his boot, the doors clanging loudly and echoing all the way down the hall. But it didn’t open. George turned and raised an eyebrow at Dream who just shrugged sheepishly.

“Yeah?” George asked.

Dream scratched the back of his head. “Worth a shot.” He crossed his arms. “We need a...something to...Oh, wait!” He jumped as he suddenly remembered something. He looked through his inventory for a second and pulled out the pressure plate from earlier. “Here.” He placed it down on the floor in front of the door and motioned for George to go first. “After you, Totem Boy.”

“You can’t make fun of me for having a necklace that  _ you  _ gave me!”

“Just go!”

George playfully flipped him off before walking through the door. He paused in awe for a moment upon the realization that the room, underground and in a desert, was made of prismarine. The beautiful blue stone was something that George had only seen in passing. It was jaw-dropping in person. It was dark except for a single lantern in the middle of the room. “Whoa...” George trailed off. 

He walked further into the room and started to notice books strewn across the floor, and a single wooden chest. It was like someone knocked over library shelves and scattered the contents before running. George nudged one of the books with his foot. “What the hell is this?”

“That’s a book.” Dream said. George shot him a glare and Dream held his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. Look, this place is just giving me the creeps, okay? I have no damn clue.”

He picked up a book off the floor to take a glance, but the only things written across the pages were unintelligible gibberish. He really should have taken that Galactic language course in high school but Sapnap had talked him out of it because, well, enchanting is for nerds. He probably should  _ not  _ have listened to him.

Dream placed the book back on the ground and headed to the chest ahead of them. George joined him and kneeled next to the chest. He knocked on it with his knuckle. “Do you think it’ll explode?” He joked.

“Very funny, George. Actually, I’ll open the chest just in case. Can’t have your pretty face blown off.” He replied almost instantly, putting a hand on George’s shoulder to nudge him away from the chest.

George wiggled away from the touch and scooted up again. “No, we can both open it, calm down.” He reached out to start pushing it open. “It’s literally not going to explode, I was joking.”

“Fine, we can just open it together!” He said, placing his hand on the chest, brushing his pinky against George’s, theatrically raising his eyebrows. “Dude...are we touching _ pinkies _ ?”

George frowned and ripped the chest open before yanking his hand away. “I can’t stand you.” Now that the chest was open, he leaned forward. “Woah...” he reached in and pulled out a small stone statue with blue lapis eyes. It was tinted a bit teal, and it seemed to stare into his very soul. “What the hell is this thing?”

“I don’t know, you tell me, George! Seeing as how we’re both in the same room with the same knowledge as each other, and there’s no possible way I could know anything about this object that you don’t!” He stared at him, unmoving, sarcasm thicker than honey.

“I will shove this thing so far up your ass that I can see it through your mouth.” His voice was void of any emotion at all. 

“At least give me time to prep and set up a crafting table first.”

George groaned and rolled his eyes. “Shut it.” He set the statue aside, unphased, and pulled out two maps from the chest next. “Um...I haven’t seen maps like these before.”

Dream looked over George’s shoulder at the maps, noticing the large dots at the edge of each of them almost instantly. “Wait- hold on, are these...These are dungeon maps, like, like, uhh...” He snapped his fingers as he spoke, trying to find the words. “The shit you can trade with the cartographers for. Like woodland mansions, ocean temples, shit like that.”

“Oh shit.” George leaned in closer. “So...this one must be for a mansion. And this is a temple...” he looked around the room they were in, then picked up the totem. “Dude, the ocean temple. This shit must be from the ocean temple! Look at everything!”

“Yeah, did you not notice when we walked in?” He quirked an eyebrow at the other. “The part I’m most confused about is how this is even a thing in the first place. Like, how come I didn’t learn about structures like this in school? I took classes about historical builds and temples and everything and I’ve never heard of a structure or... _ thing _ like this before.”

George shrugged. "I was coding-specialized so this stuff isn't really my forte." He narrowed his eyes and looked at the totem statue again. "Does this do anything? Or go anywhere?" Before he could get an answer, his mind jumped to the next question. "It looks like the mansion is on the way to the ocean temple. Look at those mountains." He traced his finger along the maps. “They go through a jungle.”

Dream looked around the room at the strewn about books. “We could always try to decipher these for a clue or,” he pointed at the maps, “we could just follow those blindly and hope something works out.” He shrugged, holding out his arms. “Your pick.”

George picked up one of the books and picked through them. No pictures. No evidence. Only Galactic. And he never learned Galactic. He set the book down and shrugged. “Might as well follow them. We might get answers on the way. Plus - we have nothing to do for a while. It’s worth it.” Something about this mystery lit a fire inside of George. He was excited. He was definitely more motivated than he would be about a normal Manhunt adventure. “Plus, this feels important. I don’t know why. But we should do this.”

“Alright, let’s head out then. I trust you, Georgie.” Dream rolled his shoulders and brought out his pickaxe, giving it a twirl before burying it into the side of the wall, beginning a staircase upwards.

As they both walked, George held the statue against his chest. It felt important to him, and weirdly connected to him. He couldn’t place why. But he knew it needed to stick with them. As for the maps? Well, he couldn’t stop thinking about what could possibly be on the other end of them. He didn’t put anything away yet. He wanted to see them in the sunlight first.

After a good few minutes of digging, they were eventually out, emerging about one hundred meters away from the original temple they entered from. Dream pulled the mask an inch off his face to make room to wipe the sweat on his brow before readjusting it accordingly. “It’s only mid-day but I think we’re more than underprepared to tackle a woodland mansion. Like seriously. We should probably do some digging before we just barge in. Especially since, you know. One necklace.”

When they reached the surface, George saw Dream lift his mask and stared just a little too closely. “Well, yeah. It looks like it’ll take at least a day or two to get there. We have plenty of time to gear up.” He looked down at the items in his hands and started to look over the totem. He was so obsessed with the beauty of it that he even forgot to put back on his shades. His eyes were watering from the bright sun but he didn’t care.

Dream had gotten a little side tracked while staring at George, barely picking up on what he was saying. George was pretty. That was something he could have told anyone with confidence, but it really hit different when he could see the others two-toned eyes in the broad daylight. 

It was moments like these where he felt like his heart beat a little too quickly around George. And he didn’t want to think about it too hard.

It took him a second to reply, but Dream eventually came up with a simple. “Hm? Oh, yeah, let’s figure out a plan, then.” 

George put everything in his inventory except for the woodland mansion map and checked his watch. “Okay. My hearts are finally coming back. I’m good to start walking if you are.” He lowered his shades over his eyes. 

“Then let’s go.”

After a few hours of walking, playful banter, and straight up bullshitting, they had found themselves in the middle of a dark oak forest. Sadly, not the one they would find their mansion in. The sun was starting to set and their stamina was plummeting fast, so the pair decided to set up camp in a small clearing. Dream began constructing a small half-hut while George was busy building a campfire and lighting the surrounding area with torches. They had done something like this a million times. It was practically a habit. 

Dream set the one bed they had onto the ground and took a seat on the edge, pulling out one of the many, many, many, flavorless baked potatoes they had been eating for the past twenty-four hours. He looked over to George as he had just finished up and said. “Tomorrow morning? I think I’m going to go mining before we head out. We both still need a full set and honestly some diamonds wouldn’t hurt, either.”

“Understood.” George wiped his hands on his jeans and turned around. He paused when he peered into the hut. “Um...I’ll take watch then. Right? I’ll stay up for the first half of the night.”

“Uh…No?” Dream raised an eyebrow and then looked around for a moment, seeing how the entire area was lit up. “Dude, do you really think we need to keep watch? Besides, I don’t want, like, a phantom to spawn or something. I fucking hate phantoms.”

“But we only have one bed this time.”

Dream literally didn’t process how that could possibly be an issue. “...Is there a problem?”

George blinked hard and pushed his shades up with one finger. “Yeah, there’s only one bed. And two of us. There isn’t enough room.” He said it like it was obvious.

Dream stood up just to dramatically gesture to the bed. “That’s plenty of space. It’s an entire bed, George. Unless you want to sheep hunt in the next like five minutes, you better suck it up.” He sat back down and crossed his arms. “And unless you want to wake up with spiders in your ears, I don’t recommend either of us sleeping on the ground.”

“Why would you say that about the spiders!” George cried. “You know I hate them!” He was pouting at this point and looking deflated. “But there isn’t enough space. You’re huge.”

Dream winked.

“God fucking dammit.” George pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, no! As in, I won’t have any room on the bed. As in, you’re many centimeters taller than me. As in, we won’t fit.”

“George, it’s okay that you’re short, you don’t have to make excuses for yourself.” Dream sympathized, placing a hand on the other's shoulder. “But Sapnap and I literally did this all the time as kids. You’re overthinking sleeping for literally just one night, it’s not the end of the world.”

George paused and looked at the bed again. “Yeah, as kids. But... but what about your mask. You can’t sleep in it.”

That actually threw Dream for a loop for a second, and actually caused him a bit of worry. He paused and shook it off before replying with. “Well, I assumed we’d both be asleep and I don’t think you sleep with your eyes open.”

“Fair.” George rubbed his arm. “Uh...Okay. Fine. Sure.” He walked awkwardly to the hut and kneeled down to situate his weapons and lift his glasses so they were settled in his hair.

Dream unlaced his shoes and took off his armor, the usual nightly routine, and pulled the covers back. He then held his arms out and made grabby hands at George, letting out a slightly maniacal laugh as he did so. “ _ Geooorge _ , we’re gonna cuddle,  _ Geooorge _ !”

“Dream. Dude.” George whined. He set his glasses down and looked over at the other man. “Your arms are in the way and I don’t have room.” He swerved through the obvious attempt at his faux-romantic bullshit.

Dream sighed and flipped his hands down, moving over until his right side was against the wall. “There. Room. You’re welcome.”

George slowly clambered into bed, tucking his legs close and being careful to try to avoid touching Dream. It was inevitable, though, and his back ended up pressed against Dream’s chest whether he wanted it or not. He realized quickly that Dream was warm - comfortably warm, like a bath or a perfect blanket. And George also realized how safe he felt. He settled down, facing away from Dream. “Okay. Now don’t ruin it.”

Dream rolled his eyes and reached up to his face. “Okay, then don’t turn around.” He muttered as he pulled the mask away, reaching over George to rest it on the bedside crafting table. He settled back into his spot on the bed and shifted into a more comfortable position, trying his damn hardest to not just instinctively wrap his whole body around the other to completely ruin everything.

George was hyperaware that Dream was behind him, maskless. He didn’t turn around. He didn’t move. In fact, he closed his eyes completely. “Okay. So I’m going to sleep now.”

Dream chuckled at the others awkward wording. “Okay? Why don’t you live narrate all your dreams to me while you’re at it.”

George was ready to have some witty end-all-be-all retort, but a yawn interrupted him and punctuated exactly how tired he was. “You know what? You don’t deserve a live narration of my dreams.” He pulled up the covers higher.

His token smug smile was plastered across his face. “You don’t have to tell me, I know I'll be in your dreams regardless.” He said with the confidence of a man who’s never been sucker-punched before in his life.

George groaned and buried his face in his pillow. “Just shut up.” He mumbled into the fabric.

Dream laughed when he got the reaction he wanted, satisfied with how perfectly he could bother George in little mundane ways. He yawned and bumped George lightly with his elbow. “Goodnight, George.”

“Fuck off, Dream.” 


	3. Chapter 3

**DAY THREE**

**Objective: Gear Up**

**Totem: George**

**Acquired: Moon Totem**

Typically, Dream awoke at the crack of dawn. It was a habit he had gotten into during college and never gave up. It was beneficial to his job, to be fair - and it helped him learn to run on fumes in survival situations. He was the one who was always the first to wake up, the first to get work done. It was his  _ thing. _

This morning, however, his body decided to let him sleep in.

And it was because he was wrapped tightly around George. All six-plus-feet of him had tried desperately in the night to make physical contact in any way shape or form. Dream had George’s back pressed tightly to his chest while his arms were coiled around the other’s middle. His face was resting above the others head, just barely touching his brunette hair with his chin. When the world started to wake up with pigs oinking and chickens clucking, Dream had instinctively clung tighter, not completely ready to wake up yet. He was too busy basking in George’s warmth.

He was fully at peace.

George, meanwhile, was deep in a chaotic dream of his own. He was speaking in his sleep, kicking his feet and whining. He wasn’t a calm sleeper normally - and this was good proof of that. How Dream managed to cling on was a miracle. When George finally woke up, he blinked open his eyes slowly. Everything was so bright that he just lay there and let himself adjust, groaning with distaste. 

The first thing George noticed while he was coming to was how hot he was. He was sweating a bit, and the blanket felt unusually heavy and tight. He tried to turn over and stick a leg out of the blanket, but he realized extremely quickly that he couldn’t move. It was impossible for him to move a muscle. 

Then he looked down and noticed Dream’s arms holding onto his chest like he would die if he ever let go. His face started to flood pink as he tried to pull away. “Dream!” He hissed.  _ “Dream!” _

Dream hardly moved when he heard his name being called. All he did was grunt a small, “Hm,” in response.

George shut his eyes tightly out of respect and then wiggled around so he could push on Dream’s chest with both hands. “Dream! Wake up! I can’t move!” 

Dreams eyebrows creased in annoyance, eyes still closed as he spoke. “You’re still dreaming, go back to bed.” He mumbled while still teetering on the verge of consciousness.

“I am not dreaming, dummy, let me go!” He pushed harder and tried again to maneuver out.

Dream sighed dramatically and finally moved his arms, releasing George from his death grip. He turned on his back and rubbed his face up and down, tracing along the edge of his scar as he did. It danced along his right eyebrow, across his nose, and his left cheek, and the hard skin was a nice stim for Dream. After a second, he froze, realizing abruptly he didn’t have anything covering it. He threw his arm over his face. “Hey, can you hand me my, uh...” He said, the words leaving him briefly as he snapped his fingers and pointed with his other hand in the general direction of the bed side crafting bench.

George stared into confusion at the crafting table before catching on. He quickly handed Dream his mask without peeking. “Here!”

“Thanks.” He muttered while yawning, grabbing his mask and securing it to his face as quickly as he could. He hadn’t even thought about the morning routine when they made the plan last night, and his stomach dropped at the thought of the other seeing him in full. He liked himself, and his appearance. Others like Sapnap saw his face. But something about George seeing it right now, or anytime, felt like too much.

George sometimes made him feel like too much.

He sat up and stretched his arms above his head, then rubbed a hand along his jaw, trying to wake himself up. “How’d you sleep?”

“Fine until I realized I was trapped in the bed.” George chuckled. “What about you?”

“Great. Until you woke me up.” He shuffled up and off the bed to grab his shoes. “I was about to have a good dream, too. Asshole.” He said with a giggle and a smile.

George slipped on his glasses and started to strap on his weapons. “Oh, a good dream? What about?”

“I wouldn’t know, George, you woke me up before it happened!” He said with a little attitude, lacing up the final bit of his boots and suiting up in his armor. “But it was probably epic and now I’ll never get to experience it.”

George kneeled down to tie his shoes. “Truly tragic. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“You should be.” He gathered the last of his supplies and picked up around the camp. When he was all set, he returned to George and moved his hands as he explained the plan. “Alright, so let’s find a cave around here and get a full set of armor before heading out. I think our best move is to suit up and prioritize safety above weapons. Weapons will be easier to figure out.”

“After you then, Dream.” George motioned dramatically. His nose wrinkled when he smiled.

Dream placed a hand on his chest and bowed theatrically. “Thank you, Sir George.” he mused, his chest fluttering at George’s smile. He turned away quickly, like staring too long would damage his eyes. “Let’s go.”

The two of them set out and found a cave rather easily, all thanks to Dream. It’s like he had an inner instinct for things like this. Dream stopped at the entrance, peering into the dark, and turned to George. “Ready to go?”

George nodded and started walking ahead. “Of course!” He made his way down through the cave with no inhibitions, pushing his glasses up as he went. He placed a few torches as he walked to light the way but, sadly, nothing was around. “This cave is quite empty of anything.” He muttered.

“Nah, you just gotta look harder.” Dream twirled his pickaxe in his hand before burying it into the wall, revealing a vein of iron behind it. “See, not that hard!” He grinned.

George’s shoulders slumped. “Well, sorry I don’t have a sixth sense for iron.” He walked to the opposite wall and went at it, only finding more and more stone. He mumbled to himself and wiped dirt off his shirt. “Well, then. Keep trying, eh?”

“Watch, I’m gonna find something really cool and you’re gonna be jealous. It’s going to be revenge for the diamonds yesterday!” He claimed with confidence before busting a hole in the wall, and jumped when lava started to pour out of it. “ _ Shit _ !” He quickly plugged the hole back up and then stood stiff, adjusting his mask like nothing happened. “You, uh...you didn’t see that.”

George was holding back a laugh. “No, no, I didn’t see anything. You’re doing wonderfully.” Seeing the lava sent a pang through his chest. He realized that he was the one wearing the totem again - and yes, it was technically his day, but Dream was obviously the one more at risk. He had to get the necklace on him again.

And maybe, yeah, it was going against their promise. But there was something in his gut urging him to protect Dream. Save Dream.  _ Put the damn necklace on Dream. _

Dream was having the same instinct, too. But it was sedated as long as he could see the totem against George’s shirt.

He looked deeper into the cave, seeing as it gradually sloped downwards. “We should head deeper, maybe look for some diamonds or an abandoned mineshaft. Basically, we need to beef up.”

George nodded. “Agreed.” He shifted his pickaxe in his hand before turning to Dream. “I’ll go first!” He quickly moved ahead. “Just tell me where to go!”

Dream raised an eyebrow, a dumb smile plastered across his face. “Why are you so eager?”

“Because I am human shielding you.” He laughed and tapped on the necklace. “You’ll thank me later. Now let’s go.”

Dream’s smile faltered. Now the instinct to overprotect was going to kick in. He could feel it. “Well, no, you don’t have any armor and I don’t really want to look at you with, like, forty-five arrows stuck out of your stomach. So let me take the lead.” He said, tapping his chest plate for demonstration.

“You can lead the way if you take the necklace. Besides that, I’m leading. No arguing.” George stuck his nose in the air and walked ahead.

“But that literally doesn’t make sense.” He used his hands while he spoke, moving them stiffly for emphasis. “I have the chest plate, you have the necklace. It’s equal protection, neither of us get hurt.” 

“Then what’s the problem with me leading?” George stopped, turned around and crossed his arms. “If it’s equal, it’s not an issue.”

Dream was starting to get frustrated. George was one stubborn asshole. When he kicked it into gear, he was downright unbearable sometimes. And Dream had a feeling that this was just the beginning of his problems with this particular subject.

Two idiots, one totem. This was going to be a nightmare.

“No, George, you’re not hearing me.” He pointed at George’s chest. “That necklace brings you back but it’s not, like, a shield or something. If there’s two skeletons on you, you’re going to get shot a bajillion times and I don’t wanna see that.” He then knocked on his armor again. “I literally can’t be riddled with holes. Just let me take the lead.”

“But what if you die?” George said. “Armor can only do so much if we run into a creeper or something. Things could go south! You could walk into lava! You literally almost did!” He shook his head. “Not happening. I would take a bunch of arrows as long as I don’t have to watch you die.”

“Stop being mushy. I’m cutting this out anyway. I’m being serious.” 

“So am I!”

Dream ran his hands up under his mask and over his face. He groaned. “George, I’ve beaten survival worlds without dying while you, Bad, Sapnap, and Ant all tried to kill me. You know I don’t die easy, just let me take the lead!”

George was stubborn. Too stubborn. Painfully stubborn. And that wouldn’t budge with the safety of his friend. Especially with this weird nagging pain in his gut. So he decided to stop arguing, and just march ahead. He would prove his point. He always would.

So he sauntered ahead.

And he nearly ran right into a skeleton lurking in the dark, because he was too focused on pouting than paying attention.

“Oh, fuck!” He cried, hitting it with his pickaxe until it fell to pieces. He took a moment to catch his breath before turning around. “See? Everything is golden over here.” He hadn’t got shot. So he had proved his point, in a way. Even if it was a foolish way.

Dream didn’t look amused even the smallest bit. He brushed right past George and descended further into the mine. “I’m leading.”

George wasn’t happy but he knew he earned that one. He followed, pouting most of the way. He didn’t find iron, or a dungeon, or anything that could distract his thoughts. He just remained annoyed. Very annoyed. His thoughts were boiling in his head.

Dream led in silence for a while before stopping in his tracks, turning his head methodically to get a better listen on the area around them. He was thinking too hard, too. And he was a bit angry. George was reckless. Too reckless.

But before he could think of a solution, he heard a noise.

Through the wall on their right he could hear a hoard of zombies, too many to be naturally spawning. It was just a bit too loud. He pointed at the wall and drew his sword. “Through there. Listen. A spawner is on the other side.”

George nodded and lifted his pickaxe. “Let’s do this.” The two made eye contact before getting to work. Dream broke down the wall and revealed the dungeon, and all the zombies inside turned their attention to the noise of the crashing stone.

“You break the spawner, I got the zombies.” Dream charged into the room and slashed at the hoard, taking most of them down in just a few hits. They were lucky enough to find a dungeon of zombies and not spiders or, God forbid, skeletons. Their lack of shields was really something they had to put an end to soon. 

George was better at dodging than fighting. He skillfully weaved around until he was at the spawner. He set the torches easily, and then went to take out one of the zombies closest to him. Things like this felt effortless to him - the teamwork between him and Dream was muscle-memory. The two of them had the room cleared in no time, leaving nothing but a lit spawner and two chests. 

“Full hearts?” Dream asked.

George nodded. “Full hearts.”

They both fist-bumped, then went to separate chests.

Dream rolled up his sleeves as he kneeled down to check the chest. “Let’s see what we got.”

Out of his own chest, Dream pulled out a few bars of iron, gold horse armor, and a saddle. Nothing good enough to celebrate, but maybe it could come in handy later. A horse would definitely cut their travel time in half as long as they don’t run into any lakes. Dream pulled the items out then turned to George. “Look. Saddle.”

George’s eyes lit up. “A saddle? Oh, we’re getting a pet?”

Dream waved his hand at George. “One step at a time. What’d you get?”

George opened the chest and pulled out apples. Endless apples. And a set of iron boots. “Um...Well, we have food for the next week. And I have new kicks!”

“Ugh, finally! Something that isn’t baked potatoes.” Dream laughed, then held up the saddle to show George more clearly. ”I know horse shit isn’t, like, rare, but now we’ll make it to the mansion with plenty of time to spare.”

He perked up. “Really? Can I name him?” He started to pocket the apples before sliding on the iron boots. He wiggled his feet to test the fit before grinning.

“You better not name it something dumb.” Dream said as he pocketed the horse supplies, taking a second to organize his belongings. “We shouldn’t have to be down here much longer, we only need a little more iron. Then we can head up and tame a horse.”

"Can I also pick the horse?" George raised his eyebrow.

“Only if you choose a fast one.”

“Obviously.” He started walking back to the hole in the wall that led them back to the natural cave. “Come on, then.”

“I’d say watch your head but you’re short.” He poked fun at the other, making sure to duck his head as he followed through the makeshift doorway. 

George didn't even give that comment the time of day. He walked ahead and followed Dream's method of digging into random spots on the walls, which was fruitful to be fair. He found enough for two pairs of pants, which paired with everything else nearly completed their armor sets in full. He was extremely proud of himself. "Shall we head to the surface now? I'm sick of being underground."

Dream adjusted his mask as he spoke. “Yeah, I think we have enough for now. Let’s head up.” He led the way up and out of the cave, following their torch trail until they saw natural light. Dream shielded his now sensitive eyes from the burning sun. “Fuck, it’s bright.”

George adjusted his glasses to accommodate the new surroundings. "You would think that the mask would protect your eyes a bit." He looked around and narrowed his eyes. "Okay. Moment of truth. We need to find a horse."

Dream gave George a very confused look and almost replied with ‘They’re just eye holes’ before George got distracted by the idea of a horse. He looked out into the plains and squinted hard. “Try to tame a pure white one, they’re statistically most likely to be the fastest.”

"And they're usually the prettiest." George nodded. "We should definitely find one of those." 

He went in with a white horse mentality, marching with full confidence to the nearest plain, but it was all thrown out the window the second he laid eyes on a gorgeous brown horse with white spots. It was grazing nearby and the look on George's face as he gazed at it was pure adoration. It was simply standing in the field, but the way the light hit his shiny coat reminded George of some kind of fairy tale.

"I'm in love with it and I want him." George said, pointing it out for Dream. "Look at him. He kind of looks like Sapnap if you tilt your head to the left."

Dream lost his fucking mind at that. He doubled over, face contorting to pure glee and he started wheezing until there was no sound coming out. “I-It looks like Saaa-“ He tried his best to make a full sentence but it just wouldn’t come out, instead it was just snorting and wheezing until he managed to calm himself enough to convey proper speech. 

“You good?” George raised an eyebrow.

Dream nodded and straightened up. “Okay, okay. I’m fine. Now go, let’s see how he runs.”

"Give me the saddle. I want to be the one to do it." George held out his hands. When he had the saddle, he pocketed it and ran into the field towards the horse without a single care in the world. 

The horse didn't run away - in fact, it was just confused and stood very still. The closer George got, the more bewildered it looked. Finally, George stopped a few meters away and held out an apple. He made soft cooing noises until the confused horse started to walk over to him. He was grinning from ear to ear as the horse ate the apple, and then didn't run away. He reached out and started to pet the horse's long nose. It was soft, softer than a normal horse, and George just melted.

George looked over his shoulder. "Dream!" He whisper-shouted. "I think he likes me."

Dream’s smile grew fonder as he watched George tame the horse. Butterflies flapped in his ribcage as he watched George warming up to this wild animal.It was a display of pure joy, and it warmed him inside. He gave him a thumbs up from where he stood and whisper-shouted back. “What are you gonna name him?”

“How’s Patches for a name?” George now had both his hands petting the neck of the horse. He grinned over his shoulder at Dream. “Like your cat at home!”

Now that was a fist of ecstasy right to Dream’s heart. Dream walked up to the horse and held a hand out to pet it, smiling softly when it rubbed against his hand. “Yeah, I like that.” He said, patting the horse as he turned to George. “Wanna see how he rides?”

George saddled up the horse, suddenly realizing how tall it was compared to him. He reached up and struggled for a moment to heave himself into its back, but once he was up there he was fine. In an absentminded moment of pure joy, he reached out his hand to help Dream up.

Dream accepted it in a heartbeat, hoisting himself up onto the horse behind George. Once he was settled into place, he rested his hands on George’s sides, since there was nothing else to grab onto. “Ready whenever you are.”

George didn’t even notice the physical contact. He was so overjoyed about being on a horse that it was his only focus. He pulled the reins and guided the horse to start turning to the left, slowly stepping forward and huffing air out its nose. “Okay, Dream. Which direction? I’m just going to make him go for it.”

“Uhhhh...” Dream paused for a second before pulling the maps out of George’s inventory, giving them a once over. He pointed in the direction of the woodland mansion, rolling the map back up and sticking it back in the other’s pocket. “That way.”

With one harsh kick, George sent the horse off. They took off full speed, the horse neighing and whining as they did. George had the biggest grin on his face, laughing as the wind whipped around his hair.

Or, at least, that’s what George felt was happening.

Unlike George, Dream wasn’t in the middle of a horse riding fantasy. He was seeing reality. And reality was that the horse was slow - too slow. He was fully prepared to go speeding off at forty-five miles per hour but they were going about ten. Dream tapped on George’s shoulder for a moment before placing it back on his side. “George, I could run faster than this horse.”

George’s fantasy shattered as he looked down and realized that, yes, he was slow. Yes, this was nothing. “Oh, god, Patches is a weak bitch.” He muttered sadly.

Dream chuckled lightly, then rested his chin on George’s shoulder. “Yeah, I'd say we should get a new one but I’m kinda attached to this one now. It’s better than walking, at least.”

George finally realized the level of physical contact happening in that moment. He froze, and his cheeks turned bright pink. He pushed up his glasses and turned away from Dream’s head awkwardly. “Yeah. It’s better than walking. Plus, it is kind of nice having a pet for a moment.”

Dream hadn’t noticed George’s movement in the slightest, too caught up in the moment to care. “I wonder if there’s a way to take her back to the SMP.” He pondered, looking out at the landscape ahead of them. “I’m sure you’d like a more game-friendly pet.”

“For sure.”

“How’s your dog at home doing? Did you give her a name yet?” He joked.

“No.”

“The cat?” Dream cocked his eyebrow.

“Nope. Still as indecisive as ever.” George sighed. The two rode the world through the plains and towards an oak forest. “All I know right now is that I want to give this horse the world.”

Dream chuckled, unconsciously wrapping his arms around the others middle loosely. “If we get any gold, we can make him some golden apples as a reward for carrying our asses halfway across the world.”

George was hyperaware of the fact that his entire back was pressed against Dream now. He took deep breaths to try to steady his heart beat. It was going crazy. “That would be nice. We should put the armor on him once it starts getting dark later tonight.”

“Yeah, we can do that. We should really take a picture of him and send it to Sapnap.” He giggled, snorting a little bit remembering how George was totally right about the resemblance thing. “Be like ‘is this you?’”

George started to giggle. “Imagine if we just tweeted out a picture of you on the horse with some bullshit. Like, ‘exclusive leaked photo of Dream riding Sapnap’.” He made himself double over in laughter with his own stupid joke. “Minx would think it’s so damn funny.”

Dream’s face fell.

Ouch. 

That smacked him right out of his little fantasy he didn’t know he was having. He lifted his chin off the other, sitting upright and going back to resting his hands on the other’s sides, as if too much contact was going to start burning him. “Yeah, she would.” He replied, willing the enthusiasm to stay in his voice.

George noticed the change, but took no serious concern of it. He must have just been uncomfortable. George looked over his shoulder and smiled. “We should do it. Sapnap would totally lose it. Imagine the meme traction Tommy could get from it. Plus, you know. Might be nice for the world to know we aren’t dead yet.”

“Then do it. What’s stopping you? We can stop Patches, put the armor on him, then snap a picture, and keep going.” He gave Patches a little rub on his side. “They’re gonna lose their minds when we tell them we lost a whole fucking totem.”

“Oh, yeah.” George winced. “We really dropped the ball on that one.” He looked ahead a bit. “Here, look. Let’s get a bit closer and maybe find a camping spot to stop for supplies. Then we can harass them online.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Dream said. He was a little excited to hear his friends' voices again. These challenges were always fun, but it always sucked when one of them couldn’t make it. He found himself missing his friends frequently, it’s just the kind of person he was. He wouldn’t be anywhere without them and it always sucked when they couldn’t adventure all together.

He kept his hands to himself the rest of the ride. As the sun set along the horizon, they crossed the threshold of a birch forest, and decided on setting up camp by a shallow but pretty lake, with plenty of flowers surrounding the area. Dream kicked his legs over the side of the horse and slid off. “Okay, if we leave from here in the morning, we should make it to the mansion by noon. Let’s set up camp.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.” George turned to slide off the horse the same way, but froze when he realized how much space there was between the horse and the ground. “Um, Dream? Could I have a bit of help, please?”

Dream turned and chuckled when he saw George stuck on top of Patches. “It's not that far of a drop.” He offered the other his hands for stability. “Here, I got you.”

George took his hand without hesitation. “Thank you.” He landed with a thud and smoothed down his shirt. “It’s a far drop to me, okay? Let me be.”

“Not everyone can be blessed with the height of a demigod.” He joked, patting George’s head for added emphasis like the dick he was.

After that, they started setting up camp. A little lean-to, the one bed, a campfire, and some torches to keep the mobs away - that’s all there was to it. Once everything was set up and squared the way, the sun had already set over the horizon, leaving the sky in brilliant shades of purples, pinks, blues. The air was starting to cool. The bees in the distance were settling down for bed. Everything was calm.

Dream took a seat on the bed, looking off at the sky. “Did you post that thing on Twitter yet?”

"Just did." George said. "I'm not looking at the replies until I have food in my stomach though." He walked over to sit by the campfire and got comfortable. "The sky is beautiful tonight."

Dream thought for a moment before going to join George next to the fire, leaving less than a foot between the two of them. Dream leaned back on his hands, looking up at the sky with him. “You ever think of how crazy it is that we can just...do this whenever we want?”

“You mean look at the sky or go to a new server? Because the answer to both is yes, it’s crazy.” George laughed. He crossed his legs and put his chin in his hand. “Jesus. Just look at the colors. I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on this.”

Dream gave the other a soft smile, plucking a small daisy out of the ground beside him and turning it over in his fingers. “Why do you think I was so emotional when we recorded that video? Part of me was surprised you didn’t cry.” He absentmindedly gestured the flower at George, almost accusingly. “I had to cry for the both of us.”

It was true. The video where he showed George the plug-in he made for his glasses, he had cried. What could he even say? He was sensitive like that.

“You’re the most emotional person I’ve ever met.” George laughed. He took the daisy from Dream’s hands and looked at it. “But seriously, look at this. Look at the stem.” He held it up in front of Dream’s eyeholes. “That’s crazy.” He turned back to the sunset and pointed at the watercolor masterpiece above them. “Look at that. That’s real. How is that even real?”

Dream felt his chest swell as George went on about colors. It was like this the first time, too, when they were recording. Dream came dangerously close to making some stupid ass decisions driven by his dumb emotions. Watching George’s eyes light up as he saw things he had never seen before, getting excited over flowers and sunsets and the color green? It felt unbearably unfair that this man could be so fucking beautiful just out of reach. 

He cared so much about his friend. Too much. It was so hard for him to see the line that separated reality from fiction. In reality, George was his friend, someone he’s cared about for years, someone who’s stayed by his side and who he built an online empire with. They were partners in business and best friends in life.

Nothing more, nothing less.

In his head, though? In his own private thoughts? George was so much more. He was Dream’s guiding light. His comfort. The one he looked forward to seeing when things got rough because spending time with him made all of his other problems melt away. 

Sometimes, he got a little too over-dramatic and made fantasies in his head to rationalize the bullshit he was feeling. One of his go-to metaphors floated into his head as he looked at the sunrise past George’s face. George was his moon, and he was the sun. He felt so far away, waiting for an eclipse that would never happen.

He couldn’t even remember what George had said by this point. He had been talking this whole time. But Dream was just staring at him with a stupid look plastered across his face. The way the light painted George’s features was mesmerizing, and no amount of money in the world would be able to make Dream look away in this moment.

“You know, I’ve said it a million times but I’m going to say it again.” George turned to Dream and lifted his glasses so the other man could see his eyes. They were full of such serious appreciation and admiration. “Thank you for helping me mod my glasses. Seriously. I can’t even begin to explain what it means to be.” He lowered his glasses again and turned back to the sky and pointed at the disappearing sun. “Plus now I can see shit like this with you.” He laughed. 

Moments like these with Dream were George’s favorite. Playing games was fun and bantering on camera was always a laugh, but nothing compared to the peace George felt just being with Dream. Just the act of sitting and enjoying this sunset with him would be something he remembered vividly. He didn’t know why, but it was so easy for memories of Dream to stick in his mind. And this one would stick for a while. 

“As much as it sucks to be here with one totem and no plan, I’m really happy to be here with you.” George said.

Everything Dream wanted to say got caught in his throat. Really, it was a blessing he couldn’t say much, because everything he could think of was either stupid or a terrible idea or both. He was way too full of feelings today. “Right back at you.”

George cocked an eyebrow. “Are you okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.

Dream hadn’t realized how close he had gotten to the other, their faces nearer than usual. He was close, way too close, to close for rational decision making. And he was sweating a lot. He probably smelled terrible. He wanted to run. He opened his mouth to speak. “George, I think we-”

Dream’s phone started blaring, snapping him out of his thoughts so quick he almost got whiplash. He pulled it out and his eye twitched when he saw the caller ID. It took all his restraint not to scream. He pressed his thumb on the answer button with more than enough force for a poor touch screen and held the phone to his head. “What, Sapnap?”

Back at his home server, Sapnap stared over his feed as notifications kept flooding in, his finger tapping over his desk. _“Woah, woah, woah, dude! No need for attitude. Give the phone to George.”_

Dream rolled his eyes. “It’s for you.”

George took it with a fox-like grin. “Yes, Sapnap?”

As soon as Sapnap heard the phone pass over, air puffed out of his nose.  _ “Dude what the fuck is with the horse picture! They’re drawing me as a My Little Pony for fuck sakes! And I am NOT a brony, so you have some serious explaining to do-” _

George hung up without another word, cutting Sapnap off mid-sentence. He broke into a fit of laughter. He looked up at Dream. “Poor guy. I wonder who will be the first person to mail him that one horrible Bad Dragon horse thing.” He giggled.

Dream was frustrated, at both himself and the interruption. The fact he let his thoughts get that far in the first place was inexcusable and he was angry at himself for it. When George started talking, he threw on a smile. “He’s been thinking about getting a P.O. box, but he’ll probably think twice about it if you tell him that.”

“I’m sure.” George handed back the phone. His fingers brushed against Dream’s. “So, you were saying something before we were so  _ rudely _ interrupted?”

Dream avoided looking at the other like it would kill him if he did. He ran a hand through his hair, then used it to adjust his mask. “It was nothing important, really.” He paused for a moment. But before the other could say anything, he stood up, placing a hand on the handle of his sheathed sword. “Look, I have way too much energy right now. I think I’m gonna go...I don’t know...grind through some mobs in the woods or something, maybe find some food while I’m at it.” He shrugged.

“Oh, here.” George pulled the necklace off of him and placed it over Dream’s head. He was painfully close as he did so. Dream still didn’t dare to look the other in the eye, which was rather easy with his mask covering what mattered most. He was completely stiff when the other came close, which was surprising even for him, he almost never felt this uncomfortable around George. 

“Take this if you’re going out.” George sat back and gave him a soft smile. “Stay safe.”

“Thanks.” Dream turned away, giving a final nod before unsheathing his sword and taking off into the forest. 

George watched him go, smiling. He didn’t notice anything was off. If anything, he was weirdly happy. It had been a good day. Everything had gone well. Of course, Dream latching onto him on the horse was an unexpected event. But Dream was scared of everything. He was probably holding on to feel better. That thought made George feel warm. He was happy Dream felt safe around him like that. 

He sat alone for a moment and watched the last sliver of the sun slip behind the distant hills. He got up and walked back over to where the bed was in their hut. Now that he was alone, he felt the compulsion to over-analyze their weird loot again. He pulled out the maps and the totem, and got comfortable lying on the bed while he engrossed his thoughts in trying to figure out what the hell they were doing.

When Dream entered the dark woods, he was instantly greeted with plenty of angry mobs to gain some experience with. He fought silently and deliberately with your usual enemies, zombies, skeletons, spiders, a creeper or two. Nothing that posed a challenge but just adrenaline enough to sober his thoughts.

Sapnap had saved him, really. He should be grateful instead of upset. But he was just pissed off he got that close to doing anything in the first place. What was he going to say if he went through with it? He didn’t have a damn plan. What if George denied him? The thought of it made his stomach sink. 

He dodged a bullet, really. He was so happy with George being his friend, so why did he want more? It felt selfish. It felt gross and selfish to ride on a joke for this long, to fall for his own game, all the times he said ‘I love you’ on camera just to annoy him. It was a selfish running joke. Because, on the other hand, to call it a joke would be lying. Flat out lying. He did mean those things he did to George. Always did, at least a little, at least a bit.

It’s never been this bad, though. He promised himself that he wouldn’t let his emotions push him this far, but here he was - on a trip pulling every move he could think of and writing it off under the excuse of a joke. He did these things before, so he could do them now.

But now they  _ satisfied him.  _ And he didn’t like that.

He would keep his distance from now on. It wasn’t fair to either of them if he continued pulling shit like this.

Every mob in the area had been eradicated by now, along with all the animals he could find. At least he was coming back to camp with useful supplies. He took a deep breath and collected his final thoughts before heading back in the direction of camp, glad to know he was heading in with enough wool for a separate bed.

George was practically going to explode with excitement when he heard Dream approaching the camp again. “Dream!” He jumped off the bet and rushed out to meet him at the edge of the camp. “Look! Look at this. Just - oh my god, come with me.” He was bouncing on his toes.

George’s enthusiasm contrasted Dream's somber attitude so harshly that it almost made him jump. He had no choice but to follow after the other, the bombardment of questions throwing him for a loop, as George had the maps in one hand, and grabbed Dream’s sleeve with the other. 

George started to try to drag him inside. “Question - do you have a bucket? I want to try something. Just come look at this. And then we have to do something.” His voice was so full of excitement that his words were coming out a mile a minute.

“Wait, wait, wait,  _ what’s going on _ ? You’re talking way too fast, George.” Dream pulled out of his grip.

He took a deep breath. “Okay. Just...look, okay?” He left Dream standing there and walked over to stand in front of him, behind a torch. And without another word, he held the woodland mansion map over a torch until it started to brown.

Dream immediately started panicking. “ _ George _ ! What are you doing?! I need that map! We need that map!  _ What the actual fuck _ ?!”

George yanked back the map and held it up to Dream’s face. The map had burnt, but only in specific places. It was as if spots of the paper had been enchanted to be fireproof. The paper didn’t even smell burnt - it smelled of cocoa beans. It was the outline of a totem, angled to the right. In fact, it was the same totem they currently had. The only difference was the symbol of the moon on the body of the totem. 

“See? That’s ours.” George pointed at the totem image. Slowly, the burn marks started to fade into the paper again, leaving nothing but the ghost of a secret. “The other map doesn’t burn like this so I have a theory, okay? Do you have a bucket?”

Dream raised an eyebrow, knowing where George was going with this but not quite seeing how this would help. “I was going to smelt all the iron overnight, but I can get it started now if you want.”

“Yes, please.” George nodded. He sat on the bed and pulled his legs to his chest. “I can’t believe we just fell into something like this - literally! I feel like I’m in a movie!”

Dream built them two furnaces, splitting the iron between them and setting them ablaze. “A movie? Heh. With everything that’s happened, I think the director should go back to film school.” He joked, and went back to the crafting bench. “Feel free to take whatever iron you need when it’s ready.”

“What are you making?” George asked, eyes still trained on the map in his hands.

“Bed.” He said briefly. “I killed some sheep in the woods, so now I have meat and supplies. No more squeezing into that small single thing.” He said, taking the bed over and placing it a space away from the other so they weren’t touching.

“Oh.” George looked up from the map and stared at the other bed. He had no idea why it formed a pit in his stomach. “Well. That’s, uh...that’s good.” He stood up and made a bucket. “Well. I’ll be right back then. Give me a moment.”

As George walked to and from the closest body of water, he couldn’t shake that sinking feeling he felt when he saw the second bed. He wasn’t scared of sleeping alone - in fact, he was used to it. He even preferred it. But for some reason, the idea of doing it tonight made him uneasy. And maybe he was overthinking it, but Dream felt off. He felt out of it. It wasn’t his usual bright and cheery demeanor. His Dream was much more lively than this. And now George was worried.

Did something happen? Did he mess up? Maybe he made a bad joke. Maybe giving him the totem was a bad idea. Maybe he shouldn’t have hung up on Sapnap. Maybe he wasn’t good enough at finding iron this morning. Maybe their spat in the cave was just  _ that bad _ . 

All George knew is that he couldn’t let it get to him.

It was probably nothing.

While George was gone, Dream started cooking up the meat around the campfire, waiting for the other to get back. For a moment he wondered if all this totem-temple-mansion nonsense was really worth risking their lives over. There was no way whatever gracious gift they got from completing the test would actually be worth it.

As Dream flipped the camp food, he realized he still had the totem and let George just walk off into the woods alone. His heart dropped for a second and he looked up with panic, but noticed George heading back this way and a wave of relief washed over him. He waved his hand. “I think I already mentioned it, but we have good food to eat tonight.” He unnecessarily hollered across the distance, holding up a piece of pork he stabbed with the end of his sword like it was a trophy.

That did manage to make George laugh. “Thank fuck! I’m tired of eating bullshit!” He cried back. When he returned back to the camp, he wasted no time setting down the bucket and dunking the second map in it.

Dream looked over George’s shoulder into the bucket, making sure to keep proper distance. “So what happens after you make the maps unusable? What’s your plan?”

“Hey!” He cried, pulling the ocean temple map out of water. The edges had dissolved, but it was mostly in one piece. “They aren’t unusable! Things can dry, you know.” He held up the map to reveal another image of a totem, outlined by lighter dry patches. It was a spikier, harsher looking totem than the other one. And it had a sun on its body.

“So we need to find that guy for... whatever it is we’re doing here.” He frowned, taking a large bite out of the swordchop - his sword-speared porkchop - as he did.

George nodded. “We’re going on a real adventure. This is so cool!” He cried. He clutched the map to his chest in excitement, and then slowly peeled it away when he remembered it was soaking wet. “Well. Ruined my shirt there but it’s fine. I’ll just lay it out to dry with the map.”

The universe was testing him. Or maybe George was just that dumb, he didn’t know and wouldn’t be surprised to find out the answer. Dream rolled his eyes theatrically and shrugged off the sleeves of his hoodie, pulling it up over his head, revealing his matching white smile t-shirt under it. “Here.” He started, handing the thing over to George. “Just change into this, and please don’t hug a wet map when you’re done.” He giggled a little and muttered. “Wet ass map. W.A.M.”

George looked at the sweatshirt for a beat before grabbing it. “Oh. Thank you.” He took off his glasses and set them aside. “You didn’t have to.” He looked up at Dream with his wide eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Well, did you bring extra clothes?” Dream asked. “If you did, then I’d like that back, but if not, I always come double layered.” He said, gesturing to his top.

“I didn’t bring anything else.” George stripped out of his own shirt and slipped into Dream’s hoodie. It was warm, and soft. And if George paid too close attention, he could smell Dream’s familiar scent on the fabric. He tried his best to just act casual while laying everything out to dry, even though his stomach was flipping. 

Meanwhile, Dream was about to take a long walk off a short cliff. Seeing George in his hoodie made everything a little too real for a second and he cursed at himself for almost slipping back into his fantastical thoughts. Typically he’d probably say something stupid, make a joke out of it like It looks better on you anyways but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it tonight. Not when he meant it. 

Instead he opted for a topic change. “I’m about ready to fall asleep, it’s been a long day.”

“Same.” George nodded. The sleeves of the sweatshirt kept falling over his hands as he tried to get ready for bed and he groaned in annoyance. “Why are you so much taller than me?” He rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and hopped into bed, keeping his glasses nearby but his eyes uncovered.

“Because I’m awesome and I deserve it.” Dream replied, starting his own nightly routine of unlacing his boots, taking off his armor, and just getting a bit too comfy.

Okay, but maybe he was a bit of an idiot, because crawling into bed alone was one of the worst mistakes of his life. Now he was just overthinking his decisions and backtracking way too hard on what they’ve always done in the past. Even before his feelings changed, he always put their beds together. It was a running joke.

Would George notice a change?

_ That  _ was too much to handle right now.

“Wait, I’m an idiot.” He said as he got back out of bed after only twenty seconds of being in it.

George started to bury himself in his covers when he heard Dream get up. “What?”

“Our beds.” He said, slowly kicking his bed closer to the others. “I forgot to put them together.” He lied, knowing very well his original intention was to keep them apart. Self-discipline just wasn’t a part of the Dream package deal. It was too easy to claim irony. “Unless you were, like, really excited to have a bed to yourself, I’m gonna keep annoying you. We’re still filming, after all.”

“I’m sure all the viewers will be enraged if you don’t continue the joke.” George said, pulling up the hood of the sweatshirt.

“Exactly. They’ll want to put their beds next to yours themselves. Gross.” he made sure the bed was securely next to George’s before climbing in. He thought of taking his mask off for a brief moment, but ultimately decided against it. He just really didn’t want to risk his face being seen, not right now.He pulled the covers up high, turning away from George as he closed his eyes. “Night, George.”

George turned the other way. He subconsciously nuzzled into the sweatshirt before responding. “Good night, Dream.” There was an eager silence after his words, like he thought about saying something more.

But nothing else came.

Dreams eyes may have been closed but he knew for a fact he wasn’t getting any sleep that night. He wanted to force himself to, but he ended up just tossing and turning for a few minutes before resigning to laying on his back. Out of curiosity and boredom, he spoke quietly to see if he could get a response. “I can’t sleep.”

George jumped at his voice. Once he settled himself, he looked over his shoulder. “Same. I have adventure jitters.”

“What the fuck is an adventure jitter?” He chucked, staring at the ceiling of their lean-to, “You’re that excited about the maps?”

George flopped over to face his profile. “It’s not about maps. It’s about discovering a whole new cool thing with you.”

Dream made the mistake of looking over at the other, unknowing of the fact George was already staring at him. He swallowed hard. “You don’t think it’s terrifying? Walking into all these unknown structures with new, unheard of items, all with only one totem?”

“I certainly think it’s dangerous. But not scary.” George shrugged. “Maybe a little exciting though. The unknown isn’t scary - it’s cool. We get to do whatever we want, you know? We get to discover all this cool stuff and name it. Find out more about it. Tell others. We’re pioneering. That’s so damn cool. And we’re doing it as a team! There’s no one else I would rather have by my side to explore deadly temples with.”

Dream turned his gaze back to the ceiling, knowing if he didn’t he was going to blurt out something stupid. “One of us could die. You could die. That’s scary.” He fiddled with the little cord bracelet on his left wrist. “This isn’t just a game anymore, George, and I'm actually really scared of something happening to you.”

George shrugged. “I doubt it. You’re the best of the best. And I’m the best of the best’s best friend. I’m very sure we will be fine.” He gazed at the side of Dream’s mask. “I’ve got your back. We got this.”

“Then promise me you’ll wear the totem tomorrow.” He demanded, more intensely than he intended. “Promise me that you’ll be the one to wear the totem inside the mansion.” The grip on his bracelet became tight as he tugged on it harshly, completely oblivious he was doing it at all.

George frowned a bit, either from the tone or content of Dream’s words. “Let’s just draw straws for it or something. I’m not agreeing to that all willy-nilly, I want to make sure you’ll be okay.”

Dream’s jaw tightened. Of course George wouldn’t agree to something like that. He just thought maybe, with the context of the conversation, he’d budge. But of course not. He lessened the grip on his bracelet, realizing it could break if he pulled too hard. “Okay.” His reply was short and quick, he had so much more to say but he couldn’t say any of it without saying something stupid with it.

“What?” George noticed the shift in attitude. “What is it, Dream?”

Dreams eyebrows furrowed and he finally broke. “I’ve always been able to handle myself. That’s not a problem. I can’t...George, if you get hurt, if you die? I won’t be able to fucking live with myself. I’ve seen you fight, I know you’re capable of protecting yourself, but it doesn’t feel like you get just how hard these structures are going to be. I can’t take any risks.” He finished, turning his head away from George. He didn’t mean to raise his voice, but he couldn’t exactly take that back once it was out.

“I’ll be fine, Clay.” George’s voice was soft. It was gentle. “I promise you that I’ll be fine. We’re going to walk out of that stupid mansion and dumb temple together. I will be okay.” He considered reaching out. In fact, he did. He reached out one hand, mostly covered by a sweatshirt sleeve, and almost grabbed Dream’s shoulder. But he pulled it back at the last moment. Maybe that was just too far.

He hated it when George talked to him like that because he knew he was right. He thought for a moment, really wishing George hadn’t pulled his hand away so quickly. Contact was comforting, especially in a situation like this. It was grounding, reassuring. He wanted more, but he was too busy stupidly waiting for an eclipse to get it.

He hadn’t noticed he had been twiddling his thumbs. He still refused eye contact with George, knowing it would be too much. “Okay.” He said softly. “I believe you.”

“Do you believe me enough to go to bed or do you want to keep staying up annoying me all night?” George laughed. He stared at Dream’s side and gently poked his ribs to try to lighten the mood. It wasn’t a touch on the shoulder but it was something he could justify. He wanted to calm Dream down. He wanted to make all of this easier for him. But he had no idea how. Or why that feeling was bubbling inside him to the point of pain.

Dream knew he wasn’t going to sleep, especially after that. God, he sucked. He clasped his hands together to stop them from fidgeting. “I don’t want to keep you awake. You need to sleep, we have a lot to do tomorrow.”

“Yeah, yeah, but are you going to be able to sleep too?” George asked.

Dream knew George wasn’t going to take no as an answer. And he couldn’t take the truth either.

Instead, he lied through his teeth. “Yeah, I'll be fine.” He yawned for effect. “It’s been a long day, my body is screaming for me to close my eyes.”

George gave him one last look before turning away. “Well. We both deserve a good rest. Thanks again for the sweatshirt. Good night, Dream.”

Dream stayed lying on his back for the time being, giving the other a final, “Goodnight,” while his many, many racing thoughts cluttered his mind.

Sleep didn’t find him easy that night. For hours he tossed and turned, tried to will himself to sleep over and over but it just wasn’t happening. It was well into the morning hours when he was able to finally close his eyes, and when the sun finally came, it felt like he hadn’t slept at all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I overthought this anymore, I would never post a new chapter. So here you go. It's unbeta'd so go easy on me.

**DAY FOUR**

**Objective: Clear the Woodland Mansion**

**Totem: Dream**

**Acquired: Moon Totem**

Dream woke up the second the sun was visible over the horizon. He was pissed about it, to say the least. Could he even call it ‘waking up’? He had barely been out in the first place. He rolled over to try to force himself back to sleep, burying his head under his pillow to block out the creeping sunlight. He sneaked a peak at his friend first, though, and was relieved to find that George was still asleep. 

But then he felt like he was going to have a heart attack. Because George had managed to end up in the middle of the two beds, facing Dream, his nose only inches away from the other’s mask. 

Luckily for Dream, nothing was going to be able to wake George up. He was exhausted from the days of travel and totems and bullshit. He was laying with the hood of the sweatshirt up, bright green haloing his pale face. He was mumbling unintelligible things as he dozed.  For a second, Dream thought George was talking to him and he lifted his pillow to look over at the other, only to find he was still asleep. He thought about moving away and waking the other up, but instead he just caught himself staring at the other like he was watching a deer in the woods.

George muttered in his sleep for a while before finally beginning to stir. He didn’t open his eyes quite yet - instead he curled up and whispered something angrily before covering his eyes with his sleeve. “...You didn’t make enough of a fucking roof...” He grumbled. 

“What?” 

“The sun is too much!” He leaned forward a bit while adjusting himself and almost bumped his nose against Dream’s mask. 

Dream was surprised by the sudden closeness and immediately moved backwards a little too fast. He ended up losing his balance over the edge of the bed. He thudded to the floor gracelessly and made no effort to move from his new resting place. “Ow.”

George blinked hard as he crawled over and looked over the edge of Dream's bed. He peered down at his friend through groggy eyes. "Graceful as usual, I see." He punctuated his sentence with a yawn.

Dream put a hand on his head and pushed himself up with the other. “Make fun of me all you want, but you’re the one who talks in his sleep.” He flicked the other between the eyes. “And you’re a bed hog.”

George yanked his head back, wrinkling his nose at the pain. “Wait, was I talking? Did I say anything?”

He scoffed “Yeah, you said some pretty embarrassing stuff, George.” He adjusted his mask as he bluffed, feeling how the bridge of his nose ached from where it pressed against it while he slept. “Some people would probably lose their minds if I put it on Twitter.”

George had the sudden urge to throw up. His face dropped and he was very, very awake now. “I...um...” He rolled up the sweatshirt sleeves. “What exactly did I say?”

Dream thought George would call him out on his bullshit immediately and didn’t actually think this far ahead. He decided to keep the joke vague, smirking when he said. “I don’t know, George, you tell me.”

It was then that George realized that Dream was a massive jerk. He was caught in a moment of weakness and now he was pouting. "I didn't say a damn thing, did I?!" He cried. "You almost sent me into a right panic." He chuckled nervously. 

Talking out loud last night could have been the death of him. What he was dreaming wasn't embarrassing, but it was incriminating. Him and Dream had been on a boat, alone. And that was it. Nothing fancy. But it was enough to leave him with a weird emotional residue sticking to his brain, and enough for him to panic when Dream said something stupid.

Dream started laughing in his mischievous little chuckle when George figured him out. “Why? Are you hiding something?” He said with a little too much of his iconic brand-worthy confidence.

"I'm not hiding anything. Anyone would freak out if you did that to them!" He cried. He slipped on his glasses and stumbled out of bed.

“Sure they would.” Dream stood up after the other, brushing himself off as he located his shoes. When he started the routine of putting everything back on, he went to throw on his chest plate but remembered George still had his hoodie. He debated for a moment on asking for it back, but decided against it, instead finishing his routine before making his way to the crafting bench and furnace, cracking his knuckles as he prepared to make the rest of their armor.

George started to get dressed, not even noticing he was still wearing the soft green sweatshirt. He didn’t notice until he went to pick the maps back up, and noticed his shirt still laying on the ground. “Oh, no. Here, Dream, I almost stole your sweatshirt.” He went to start taking it off.

A bad idea. “Keep it. I have, like, twenty more of them at home.” A terrible idea, actually. But it was true, he did have boxes more of them at home. He wasn’t going to miss it.

George looked down at it and smiled. “Oh. Thanks.” He put his shirt away without a second thought. Maybe acting casual would hide the butterflies suddenly spawning and swarming inside him. “I needed something with sleeves anyway. I was scared of getting a sunburn with all this walking around.”

Dream pulled away from the crafting bench with a full set of iron for each of them and ample amounts of equipment. “Do you really burn that easy?” He chuckled.

“Yes. I’m not from the tropics or whatever like you. England is cold. And dark. And wet.” George took his supplies from Dream and nodded in thanks. “We can’t all be perfectly tan and handsome like you.” He froze halfway putting on his iron pants. He said it in the same way he would have said any other joke. It was a thing they would have said any video before this. Why did it feel so fucking embarrassing this time?

“I know, it’s a curse everyone isn’t as good looking as me.” He was fitting his iron boots over his regular ones as he stroked his own ego. “But I guess that makes looking at me just that much more pleasing.” He had an overconfident smirk plastered across his stupid face. He always got like this whenever anyone said anything nice about him. 

“Well, I wouldn’t know.” George felt a sudden urge to poke the bear. “Haven’t seen enough to form a real opinion.” He smiled this extremely peaceful smile, feigning innocence. “Now, I’ll go get the torches and we can head out. Don’t forget to still turn your camera on, by the way.”

George finished packing up what he could and instantly went over to pet and cuddle Patches. The horse looked pretty bored with everything, but that didn’t deter him. He rubbed his hands and loved all over the horse’s face. “Now, Patches. I need you to go fast this time. Really fast. To prove to everyone that you’re amazing. Okay? You can do it!” 

The horse just stared back.

Dream chuckled as he watched George talk to the horse. “Maybe he doesn’t speak English.”

“Or he does and he’s just acting mysterious.” He rubbed his hands together. “Okay. Now, can you boost me up?”

Dream rolled his eyes, but was still smiling softly as he clasped his hands to give George a platform to step on. “Just grow taller already,”

“Ah, yes, as if it’s that easy.” George rolled his eyes and stepped up. When he was settled, he reached his hand down for Dream.

Dream took it gratefully, hoisting himself onto the back of patches with ease. “I’m just saying, I’m pretty sure Tommy is almost taller than you. When you guys finally meet, it’s gonna be really funny if a kid is twice your size.”

"If Tommy is taller than me, I might riot." George sighed. "Now, let's go!" He kicked the sides of the horse and pulled on the reigns, and was instantly pleasantly surprised at how fast Patches pulled off. His face broke into a grin as the horse started running, full speed in the right direction. George looked over his shoulder and smirked, his hair blowing in the wind. "Told you he speaks English!"

Dream almost fell back off the horse when it took off. He had planned keeping things relatively not-touchy on the ride to the mansion, but if he didn’t hold onto something, he was flying off. He reached forward and grabbed around George, trying to manage keeping distance at the same time. “I think this horse has an attitude problem.”

"So you'll get along with him well!" George giggled. The ride to the mansion was short. As they approached, George basically had his face in his map and was driving blind. "Okay, let's see. It should be around here..."

Dream hadn’t realized just how tired he was until they had actually made it to the mansion, and he yawned as he pointed over George’s shoulder to the giant structure sitting right in front of them. “Look, idiot. It’s right there.”

"Why are you yawning? Bored already?" He put away the map and turned Patches to a safe section of grass under some trees. "Don't check out already. This is going to be fun." Before getting off the horse, he paused. "Oh. We never decided who gets the totem.”

“You.” Dream said.

“No. It’s your day. Technically, you get it. But I’ll be nice and give you a chance to be a hardass. Rock, paper, scissors?"

Dream rubbed a hand along his jaw, forcing himself to become at least a little more awake and aware. “Fine, but I’m angry about it.” He said and held out his fist.

One stupidly messy round of rock, paper, scissors later and George was begrudgingly putting on the necklace. "I'm not happy about this but I am respecting your win as my friend." He grumbled. "Now get off this thing and help me get off."

Dream had a stupid little smile on his face as he slid off the horse, holding out his hands to help George down. “You’re just all pouty ‘case you lost.”

"Not at all! But if I'm the only one who has this, I need you to promise me that you will let me lead. And let me be in front of you." George took his hands and landed on the ground with a thud. "I'm going to be absolutely worried sick."

“How do you think  _ I  _ feel when you don’t have it?”

“That’s different.”

“I’ll be fine, okay? Trust me on this.” He didn’t release George’s hands when he spoke, running his thumb over the back of the others hand softly. “You don’t have to worry about me, I’ve been through worse and still survived.” He wished he could do something more to convince the other he would be fine, make sure he knew nothing would happen to him. The only thing he could settle on was a little hand squeeze, it was the smallest gesture of stability he could think to do within reason.

That hand squeezed completely shattered George's entire perception of himself. Because a best friend doesn't feel that dizzy from a hand squeezed. A best friend doesn't keep holding on to those hands. And a best friend doesn't squeeze back with a hurricane in his stomach and pink on his cheeks. "Uh, alright. Yeah. We got this. But still. I'll be there to protect you. Um. Okay. Let's go."

“We got this.” The blonde repeated after the other, releasing his hands and twirling his sword as he brought it out, brandishing his shield with his opposing hand.

Now that they had the proper equipment, Dream wasn’t as worried about George taking the lead, but he was still cautious of it. The two of them came a few meters away from the entrance, hiding behind some trees and peering inside as they took a moment to pause. “The whole place is completely dark, so we need to light it up as best as possible to keep shit from spawning. Normal mobs are the least of our worries, though, what we really have to worry about is the mansion exclusive enemies.” He turned to the other, yawning before he asked, “Have you ever fought an evoker?”

"Can't be harder than anything else, yeah?"

Dream just stared at him. “You beautiful little nimrod.”

“What?”

“Imagine a swarm of bees but smaller, faster, and they can phase through walls like ghosts. That’s what an evoker summons to attack you.” Just then, Dream watched another mob spawn at the mouth of the mansion, readying his blade as he finished his minor preparation talk. “Look, just make sure if you see any evokers or vindicators you kill them first or else we’ll never clear this thing.” He nodded towards the mansion. “Are you ready?”

"As ready as I'll ever be!" George said, drawing his own sword and pushing up his glasses. "Allow me." He smiled and gave a mocking bow before running off towards the doorway.

Dream followed closely afterwards. In the first room, there were two vindicators and a handful of other basic mobs - nothing that could be considered a real threat. Dream went in to swing at one of the vindicators, missing it by just a hair. He blamed it on exhaustion and rebalanced himself, not noticing as the fucker took a swing at him, scuffing the front of his armor and knocking the wind out of him.

George didn’t really focus on what the mob was - a strategy that’s validity was to be determined - but instead he focused on just clearing things away and placing as many torches as he physically could. The entire time, his eyes continued to fall to Dream. He never stepped out of sight-line, he never turned his head too far away. His blue and brown eyes were locked on the other man and that's how it was going to stay.  That’s also how he took some damage, too, but that could be ignored.

Meanwhile, Dream was able to get a leg-up on the vindicator, taking it down after far too long a fight to have with one mob. That’s when his luck got worse, though. From behind, the other vindicator had slammed an axe down on his back, sending him to the ground and damaging his armor more than it should have. He rolled over onto his back and used his shield just as another swing came down. He was exhausted, bruised, and at a loss. “ _ George!”  _ He cried.

As soon as Dream called his name, George was behind the vindicator swinging his sword down and cutting its head off. The head bounced off the shield and onto the ground next to Dream. George offered his hand down to Dream to help him up. “Told you I would protect you.”

Dream’s heart was pounding for multiple reasons and he gave George a lopsided smile as he took his hand. The pain in his back was a distant memory compared to the fire in his chest. “You’re never gonna let me live that down now, are you?” He chuckled, pulling himself to his feet.

“Absolutely never.” He grinned up at him. Then, he looked past Dream’s shoulder and a look of panic ghosted over his face. He swung his sword right past Dream’s arm, cutting off the arms of a zombie and taking it down. Once it was down, he looked up at Dream again and smiled. “You’re welcome again. That one will also not be lived down.”

Everything happened so fast and when he turned and saw what George did, he got emotional whiplash from it. “What has gotten into you? When did you get good at this?”

“Maybe I’m just lucky today.” He shrugged. He thought for a moment and then elbowed Dream’s side. “It must be the lucky sweatshirt.”

“That would explain why i suck so bad today,” He pushed the other’s shoulder playfully. “Keep fighting like that and I’ll have to take it back.” He gripped his sword tighter and gestured down the hallway. “So...what exactly are we looking for in here? Did the maps tell you any other secrets?”

“No clue. But we have to find something here!” George looked around. “Upstairs maybe?”

Dream adjusted his mask habitually and nodded at the stairs in front of them. “Let’s head up then, shall we?”

George led the way, with bright eyes and excitement all over his face. He pushed his glasses up onto his head as they walked up the stairs. The rooms were darker, and he was getting more hyper and sloppier with his steps.

Right when he reached the top of the stairs he turned to look at Dream. “Hey, I think we-“ He was interrupted quite painfully by a vex, tackling him down. It screamed in his face, which caused him to be followed by two others and the evoker that summoned them. George has his back on the ground, sword up, trying to fend off the attack.

Dreams face immediately dropped and his eyes fell dead on the evoker in charge. George was capable enough to handle himself, he decided, and Dream immediately charged for the evoker, finishing it with a few fast swings of his sword. He slammed a torch, turning back to see if George needed help with the vexes.

But George was dead. 

Thankfully, that meant the vexes left him alone. He was safe, in theory. But for those quick seconds of silence, George was gone, and nothing was left but his corpse slumped over on the carpet that was starting to stain crimson under him.  When he did start to wake up, it was sudden and with a gasp. He sat up with a start and glanced around frantically. “Dream!” The first thing he called out was his name, without even seeing where he was. Then, he fumbled around for his glasses. He found them on the floor, and the right lense had a small crack in it.

Dream ran over to George’s side in a matter of milliseconds. He was already on the ground, placing his hands on the others shoulder and chest, shaking him lightly. “George! George, are you alright?” He knew what it was like to die and come back, and so did George. But it was always scary. He knew whatever injuries George had gotten were fully healed, but it wouldn’t stop him from worrying.

George nodded. “I’m fine. Dude, I’m fine.” He was blinking hard, coming back into himself and getting adjusted to everything again. He cracked a smile and tried to look calm even though his worry was leaking through. “Good as ever, yeah?”

Dream did a big dramatic sigh of relief and smacked the other on the shoulder. “You were screaming like you were...Well, you were being murdered, but you scared the shit out of me.” He flicked the other on the forehead. “Be more careful, okay?”

George pushed up onto his feet and adjusted his armor. “I’ll be careful.” 

And he was. He was on it when it came to taking down any mob that crossed their paths. It was as if his death was a motivator - a reminder that Dream wouldn’t come back. He had gotten his head ripped off, literally, and bounced back. But Dream’s head wouldn’t reattach. So he did his best to stand in the way, and fight for the both of them.

George was carrying their asses through this mansion like it was nothing. Every time Dream tried to help and take out a mob, he stumbled or did something stupid or was too damn distracted by George to focus on his own battles. He blamed it on exhaustion, of course. A part of him was really glad George was on his best behavior today because Dream was just pathetic this whole trip.

It gave him a much-needed break, though. It was nice to just be taken care of for once.

By the time they looped back around to the stairs, they - ‘they’ being George - had cleared out every mob in sight, give or take a skeleton or two. He ran a hand through his hair as he looked absently around the room. “So, should we start looking for... what, a totem thing? Are we looking for the sun totem? No, wait...that was the water temple. Right? Fuck, I don’t know.” He muttered, his brain refusing to work properly.

“We need to find something.” George thought for a moment. “I guess we just start raiding chests then.”

Dream rolled his shoulders and gave the other a smile. “Let’s start looking, then.” He sheathed his sword and nodded down the hallway. “First one to find something cool wins!”  He immediately booked it down the hallway and slammed the door open to the first room he saw, charging in, and shortly after plummeted back down to the first floor. The room he chose had the floor completely caved in, and he didn’t think for a second that running blindly into a room could have caused this. He remained laying face down on the floor, his whole body in too much pain and shock to get up.

Needless to say, that didn’t go as planned.

Where was his mind today? Where was he inside his own head? This is what he got for focusing on his stupid emotions over the important things.

George was downstairs and by his side as quick as he could be. “Oh, no. Dream? Can you hear me?” He was taking the necklace off as he spoke. “I’m going to give this to you, okay? I think you need it.”

Dream rolled over onto his back with the most annoyed expression he could muster. He then put up a hand, forcing George to keep the necklace. “I’m fine.” He sat up, rubbing the back of his head under his helmet. “All I did was fall, you're the one who’s died once already. Plus, I won rock, paper, scissors. And that’s sacred.”

“Are you okay though?” George leaned in closer. “Are you hurt? Do you need anything?”

Dream put a hand over George’s mouth to silence him, giving him a look as he reassured the other. “I’m fine. I only fell about six blocks.”

George pulled away. “Okay, okay.” He stood up and offered Dream a hand. “Let’s get back to our hunt then.”

Dream took the others hand gratefully and hoisted himself onto his feet. “Onward and upward.”

When they exited the room, Dream took an immediate right and walked until they found another door. This time, he didn’t rush in like an idiot and was cautious of his approach. He was forcing his head back in the game. The room had two zombies in it and he took them out with ease, eying the chest in the corner.

George walked right to it and opened it up. He crouched down and grinned. “Dream, you’ll never guess what I found.”

Dream walked over to the chest and peered over George’s shoulder questioningly. “Bet, is it a god apple?”

George held up a regular, unmodded totem of undying with one hand and a map in the other. “We’re going on another adventure!”

Dreams eyebrows raised when he saw the totem and he took it from George’s hand. “Nice!” He pocketed it quickly. He pointed at the map next. “Where does it lead? Is that all we came here for? Or is it a stupid treasure map...”

"It's...um..." He held it up and squinted. "It's a map to another temple. I think...oh my god, Dream, look." George held up the paper to Dream. "Jungle temple! It's a jungle temple! The other totem is in the jungle temple!"

“Hell yeah, I can’t wait to risk our lives for another dumb totem.” Sarcasm was heavy in his voice. “Can we go now? Is this all we need?”

“Probably.” He shrugged. “Shall I lead the way?”

Dream took off his helmet and shook out his hair. He hated the way it kept clanking against his mask, and now that they were leaving, he didn’t see a reason to keep it on. “Yeah, let’s head out.”

George had to take a moment to breathe after that display. He shook out his hair, much less elegantly, and pushed up his glasses. He started outside, leading them out of the mansion with little fanfare. The outside world was a welcoming experience. George paused and stretched up tall when he reached the fresh air. “Damn. I forgot how much dying hurts my joints.” He blinked his eyes as they adjusted to the sun.

Dream stopped to reorganize his pockets after picking up all the mob garbage. “God, tell me about-”

His words hung in the air as abrupt silence surrounded them. Dream’s mouth hung open, his eyes wide.

“Dream?” George looked up at him.

One minute, Dream was fine. The next, his body was falling forward, an arrow sticking out the back of his skull. About fifteen blocks away, inside the mansion, a skeleton had rounded the corner. He had let an arrow fly free, right into Dream’s head. And now, he was loading a second round pointed right at George.

George was caught between a few different emotions, but his first instinct was to slam his shield into the dirt to block any more fire before grabbing Dream by the shoulders and pulling him behind the shield with him. 

As the skeleton wandered out of the mansion and burnt away in the sunlight, George was pulling the arrow out of Dream’s head and flipping him over. The blood on his hands wasn’t warm. It wasn’t sticky. It was like all sense of feeling had drained from George’s skin. Dream’s mask lay askew on his face, leaving his cheeks and nose more exposed than before. 

“Dream? Dream, can you hear me? Are you okay?” He was struggling to think straight. His skin was hot with panic. He stripped himself of his necklace and pushed it against Dream’s chest. “Come on, come on...” He whispered. It did nothing, though. The totem dropped to the grass without putting any air back in Dream’s lungs.

And that’s when the tears started to burn. The world started to shake. George ripped off his glasses and leaned down close. “Dream.” He shook him again. “Please.” He was barely a few inches from Dream’s mask. “This isn’t a funny prank.” He said desperately. “This isn’t funny anymore, Clay, wake up. Wake up!” He shook his shoulders again.

But he was met with silence.

“Dream!” He cried, getting louder and louder. “Jesus Christ, Dream, I can’t. I can’t. You  _ know  _ I can’t, so please. Please just be fucking okay!”

Dream’s thick eyebrows furrowed in pain as he slowly regained consciousness. Air filled his lungs again, and blood slowly started to refill each inch of his skin. He had a throbbing migraine and being jostled around wasn’t helping him any. Before saying anything, he raised his arm to bat George’s hands away. He refused to open his eyes, afraid that the sun would only make his headache worse. “George...George. Stop. Stop moving me, my head hurts.”

George collapsed into his relief. “Oh, thank fuck.” George fell into a crushing hug, burying his face in Dream’s neck. “Thank fuck.” He spoke into his skirt collar. “I was so worried.” He held onto Dream just like that, cradling him close, breathing and catching his sobs against Dream’s warm freckled skin.

Dream had been unaware of what happened, moving through a milky haze, but George’s reaction made Dream snap out of it. His head was still throbbing, but the sudden contact threw him for a complete loop and acted as a little distracter from his body’s baggage. He slowly wrapped his arms around George, rubbing his back in slow circles. “I died, didn’t I?”

"Yes, you died, you got shot in the damn head!" He cried. He pulled away enough to look at Dream, his brow furrowing in confusion. "How the hell are you alive right now?"

Dream reached for his neck and noticed that he was definitely not wearing the necklace. He thought for a moment. When he remembered the loot they found, he smacked himself on the head hard, like an idiot, and recoiled in pain. “Ow...That was dumb. But dude. The totem from the chest.”

George sat back on his legs. At first, he just looked shocked. And then a small laugh escaped. And another. And another. He started to laugh, loud and hearty, clutching his stomach as he did. Tears of hilarity replaced the tragic ones still lingering on his cheeks. "That was the luckiest thing to ever happen to you." He was doubled-over, and George just couldn't stop. Now that all the fear had melted away, the relief was so strong it brought him unmatched joy.

“And  _ I wasted it!” _ He let out a sigh of disappointment. “I had an extra life and I wasted it on a skeleton.” He shifted his arm and reached into his back pocket, pulling out a handful of desaturated yellow chunks of rubble. He dumped them onto the grass beside him. “That’s gotta be the most pathetic death I’ve had yet.”

“‘Pathetic’ isn’t the word I would use.”

“Yeah?”

“It was certainly the scariest thing I’ve seen in months.” George said. He looked Dream over and just stared at him. He just wanted to look. He was reminded how dangerous their mission really was. He was reminded of how horrible the idea of losing Dream was. He wanted nothing more than to just be close to him right now. 

Dream was  _ capable.  _ That’s why this shook him so deeply. Because Dream was capable, and Dream wasn’t the one out of the two of them that struggled so hard to survive. 

George was still eager to continue on. But now there was a bit of a ghost in the back of his head.

He looked away and forced himself to hold back. “I’m sure you feel horrible after that. Let’s both eat some food before heading towards the jungle temple.” He picked up his necklace from the grass. “Do you need help standing? Do you need anything?”

“I need to get away from here.” Dream waved off George’s attempts to help him. “Dude, you know me. Fuck off. I got this.” He smiled in his crooked way, fixing his mask as he did so. 

Dream took a moment to steady himself on his feet, taking his time to make sure his migraine didn’t come rushing back. “Let’s get far away from this fucking place first. It killed each of us once already.” He brushed himself off and popped his neck. “So where did we leave Patches?”

George looked around for a moment, then pointed a little ways away. “There. Come on, then.” He stood up and headed over to the horse. He got food for both of them, which Dream ate gratefully, then got to work studying the new map. It was on the way to the ocean temple, in a jungle about a day’s worth of travel away.

Dream leaned over George’s shoulder at the map he was looking at, taking a loud obnoxious bite out of an apple, and pointed. “So, how long have we got?”

“We’ll probably get there tomorrow around noon, just like today. Time for more camping.” George said. “I’ve never been to a jungle temple before. But I’m assuming it’s as boring as a desert one so we won’t need to stop for supplies.”

Dream quirked an eyebrow at that. “How have you never been to a jungle temple? What the fuck, George!” He exclaimed. “You’ve never been in a mansion, never been in a jungle temple. Do you even play this game outside of manhunt?”

“Yes! I do!” George cried. “Don’t be an ass.”

“You do know that jungle temples have, like, hella traps in them, right?”

“No, I didn’t.” George frowned. “Well, that will be very interesting.” He rolled up the map. “Let’s head out then.” He stepped back and cleared his throat. “Dream? May you be my staircase again?”

He huffed theatrically. “Sure. Want me to shine your shoes, too, seeing as how you’re treating me like a servant?” He whined, interlocking his fingers to boost the other regardless.

“You’re offering to shine my shoes? What a gentleman.” George took the boost, and then pulled him up after him as usual. When he had his friend up on the horse, he squeezed before letting go of his hand. “You can shine them all nice when we make camp.” He chuckled.

“I was joking, I’m not shining your shoes. I’d rather die. Literally.” He rolled his eyes, using all the attitude he could muster. “Actually I think you should be the one shining my shoes. You do owe me for that lucky hoodie.”

“I will not shine your shoes!” George scoffed. “Shut up!” He kicked Patches and the horse headed off in the direction of the far-off jungle. “I am very happy we’re both okay, though.” He chewed the inside of his cheek. “This was more dangerous than I expected.”

“I think it’s cute we both died from head injuries. Very romantic.”

George shook his head. “I’m being serious.”

“I literally warned you how dangerous it was! What do you want me to say?” He playfully flicked the back of the others head. “I made sure to warn you that this was no joke.” He ran a hand through his hair and looked off into the distance. “I still don’t think this is a great idea. Like this whole quest thing.”

“Seriously?”

“I just have a bad gut feeling.” Dream said.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Besides, what else are we supposed to do for the week? Build a cabin by the lake with Patches and watch the sunset and just farm together, alone, for days?” George asked. “No, this is much cooler. And better for a video.”

“Yeah, no...that would be...stupid.” He lied through nervous laughter, rubbing the back of his neck as his eyes darted to the side. “But at least that’d be safer, you know.” Dream leaned back and looked down at his chest. “And...uh...speaking of video?” He reached down and ran his large fingers over the shattered lens of his camera. “I think one of the vindicators might have finally broken my baby.” He pouted.

“Oh, damn.” George looked over his shoulder. “We haven’t broken our cameras in like...a year or two.”

“I have only broken two cameras in a decade. This is number three and I am distraught.” Dream sighed. “But whatever. You were killing it in the mansion anyway. We can use your footage for the rest of it. If we do the rest of it, that is. We  _ could  _ always play it safe. I could always build you a nice farm.”

“I mean, in theory.” George shrugged. “But you don’t usually do it safely. I’m surprised you aren’t as eager as me.”

“I’d be a lot less paranoid if we had the proper equipment for adventuring, like I’ve said multiple times before.” He sighed. “Surprisingly, the threat of death is a big motivator, you know. Not just head-first into danger.”

“I mean, I get that. I understand that a tad more now. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s fine!” He said. “On a larger scale, we are fine and we’re doing a great job. So relax. We have each other.”

Dream paused for a moment, then sighed. “You’re never gonna budge on playing it safe, are you?” He shook his head and put his hand on the other's shoulder. “Fine, we can try this next temple. But if it gets dicey or we have another close save? We’re done. I’m calling it all off. No arguments.”

“Fine. Deal. Whatever. Now, stop complaining.” He kicked the horse and they continued onward. He leaned into the touch unconsciously, moving his shoulder muscle in Dream’s hand. “Let’s find a place to stay the night. Maybe we can stay closer to water this time, I want to go swimming.”

He shook the other lightly then retracted his hand. “Wait, that’s actually a great idea.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I need a shower anyways and swimming is, like, basically the same thing.”

“No. No, not really at all, but I’ll let you have this one.” George laughed. “I just want to have a little break, you know? Swimming will be nice. Nothing can go wrong with that.”

Dreams eyebrows knit together in distress. “Well, we could get attacked by drowned.” He noted. “Or we could run into a stray guardian...or maybe the squids will finally decide to attack.” He joked to the other, his mouth quirking up into a smirk.

“You are trying to force something bad to happen!” He cried. “What’s it called? ‘manifesting’? You are manifesting harm to us and I will not stand for it!” He looked over his shoulder and pointed his finger at Dream’s chest. “I’m gonna stop listening to you.”

“What?” Dream whined.

“No negativity. You died today, I don’t want to hear it.”

“George!” He yelled in the others ear, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him back and forth. “ _ Don’t ignore me _ ! Give me attention!”

George crossed his arms and shook his head. “I can’t hear anything at all. I can’t hear a thing. Nothing at all. Especially not any yelling right in my damn eardrum!”

Dream huffed and butted his forehead against George’s back. “Fine, I know when I’m not wanted.” He pouted, crossing his arms awkwardly over his chest while in the bent position. “Good to know my best friend hates me forever. Hope you’re happy, George. You broke a man’s heart today.”

But Dream’s tantrum was too amusing, and now George wasn’t going to drop the act until they reached their new camp. When they finally found a good spot, it was actually by the beach. The earth had spread out, drawing along into a thin isthmus, and the middle of it was perfect for a camp on the only patch of grass. George didn’t even ask - he just stopped the horse. This was their home for the night, no arguments allowed.

George tied up Patches and started his normal ‘chores’ for setting up, still smirking and acting like Dream was merely a shadow the entire time. Dream was joking at first about being pouty from being ignored, as he usually did, but it slowly grew to be more of a serious reaction as time went on. He could feel his insides itching from the silent treatment. He set up their little hut as grumpily as physically possible, occasionally slamming things a bit too hard to get the brunette’s attention - but to no avail.

He placed both beds in the shelter accordingly, but quickly retracted his action. Just like the dramatic man he was, took George’s bed and decided to walk a few meters to the right and placed it down out on the dead of the sand under the stars, far away from any possible campfire warmth. 

George noticed the bed placement and rolled his eyes. This is the point he hit every time where he realized the joke with Dream had gone too far. It was a hard line to see, and hard to not cross. But he was always willing to bend first. 

He tapped his foot and waited at the shoreline until Dream got just a little too close. He cleared his throat and put a hand on his hip. “Okay, okay. You win.” He shuffled his shoes in the sand. “Will you move my bed back?”

Dream made no effort to look at George for a moment, then dramatically pointed to himself. “Oh, me? It’s me you’re talking to? Sorry, I thought you hated me forever and never wanted to talk to me again.”

George pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Dream, I’m going to get in the water and sleep in the hut with or without you.”

A small laugh broke through Dream’s stony facade, finally breaking his pouty attitude. “Okay, okay, fine, just hold on.” He moved the other’s bed from the sand and put it back, smoothing the sheets out once it was settled. “There. Happy?”

"Much happier." George took off his glasses and tossed them by the bed. He started to take off his shirt as well. "Now, hurry up before the sun goes down all the way. I’m still planning on swimming."

“I’m going as fast as I can.” He turned his back to the other and removed his mask, slipping his shirt off and quickly placing back the smiley face over his own toothy grin. Right before he undid his belt, he remembered something. And a mischievous glint grew in his eyes. “Wait, have I told you about the new merch I’m planning to release soon?”

George paused with his pants around his ankles. “What?” He shook his feet out and adjusted his boxers. “What new merch?”

Dream undid the buckle on his pants and quickly pulled them down, revealing a pair of white boxers with little circular smileys patterned all over them. 

Dream had designed underwear. And George was cringing.

Dream splayed open his arms like he had just found the answer to the universe’s greatest secrets and it was in his boxers. He opened his mouth and said with a little too much excitement over a piece of clothing, “They’re fucking great, aren’t they?”

“Really? Seriously? This is something you are going to proudly sell?” George grimaced.

Dream gave him a confused look. “What? They’re awesome! You don’t like them?” 

“No!” He cried.

Dream crossed his arms over his bare chest defiantly. George’s eyes followed the motion. “Because I think they’re gonna sell well.”

“I’m going in the water.” George waved the other man off and rolled his eyes. He stretched his arms as he headed towards the glint of the waterline on the sand. It was reflecting the gold and pink of the sunset, and the waves were calm and welcoming. 

Dream watched the other walk towards the water and slowly become silhouetted by the light glimmering off the water’s surface. He took a deep breath as his heart skipped a beat. To an outsider, he’d appear to be mesmerized by the sunset. But the reality was that he was focusing on how pretty George looked. 

He always knew he was pretty. Everyone knew George was pretty. In fact, if you didn’t think George was pretty, you were the weird one.

Dream wanted his beauty all to himself. It was so stupid and selfish to want something like that, and he knew it was, but with the way his chest fluttered? He didn’t give a damn. He should tell George these things out loud. He already almost did. He was so close. Now would be a great time. 

He  _ should _ just open his mouth. 

He  _ should _ just speak his mind.

He  _ should _ really get going to the water. He shook away his thoughts and began towards the shoreline, his running proving pointless against the sand, “Oh come on, don’t be like that! Wait for me.” He let out a lighthearted laugh, forcing his mind to calm itself and act normal again.

George reached the water before Dream and submerged up to his knees before turning around and looking at his friend. He couldn’t help but notice the way that Dream’s hair looked strawberry blonde in the warm sunset glow. He got goosebumps just looking at it. “Then be faster!”

He turned around again and continued to wade into the water. It wasn’t cold at all - in fact it was unnaturally warm. It felt amazing. The sand was soft and there wasn’t a single fish nearby. It might as well have been a swimming pool, if it wasn’t for the endless horizon where the waves met the sun. He looked over at Dream again. He tried not to stare. “Is this what growing up in Florida is like?”

Dream stuck his feet into the water and wadded through the depths until he found a part that was deep enough to come up to his waist. He crouched and submerged himself in it. He turned to the other and scoffed. “Oh, hell no. The beaches there are crowded and gross. And if you try to find a private beach or something, it’s most likely overpopulated by slimes. It’s disgusting.” He shook his head. “You lived right next to the ocean, right? Were your beaches like this?” He questioned before dunking his head under the water for a brief moment then reemerging, throwing back his mop of wet hair as he came back up.

“They’re rocky. And cold.” George glanced over and felt his chest and shoulders turn pink as he watched the water drip off of Dream’s mask and down his neck. He looked away again and instead focused on the sky as he lowered himself up to his neck in the water. “It’s not as nice to swim in freezing water.” He chuckled. “And, you know. It’s pretty polluted close to the city.”

“Oh yeah, I forget it’s fucking cold over there.” He shook his head like a dog would, sending water flying all around them, including directly at George’s face. 

George wiped water off his cheeks and giggled. “Yeah, it’s damn cold. That’s why I’m very pleased whenever you get a server with no snow in sight. It’s a very welcome experience.”

Dream shook his head. “I like the snow when it’s not for a challenge or speed-run. I didn’t get to see snow my whole life until we started buying these worlds, remember?” He ran a hand through his hair, trying to make it look halfway decent while soaked. “I think it’d be nice to like, vacation in the mountains in a cabin or something. It sounds cozy.”

“That sounds nice. But only a vacation.” George swam a bit closer. “Can I ask...is it hard to swim with the mask on?”

He shrugged. “It takes some getting used to but you kind of have to get over it when you’re swimming away from four people trying to kill you.” He gave the other a lopsided smile, leaning towards the other. “Why? Want me to take it off that badly?” He teased, grabbing the edge of his mask like he was actually considering it.

George’s face was hot pink before he could even stammer a word out. “That’s not what I meant! I just, you know. I don’t know. Water. You know? I, um...” He looked away and tried to change the subject. “Look at that cloud!”

George got so cute when he was flustered. It was the whole reason why Dream messed with him so much. He lightly splashed the other. “George, I was just teasing. Chill out.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You’re so freaked out. Afraid I won’t be as handsome as you imagined?”

George splashed back, more as a panic response than anything. He kicked and moved to deeper waters. “You have to do this even while we’re out here? I’ll drown you, I swear!”

Dream finally leaned away from the other, laughing so hard his shoulders shook. He didn’t even try to block the splashing water, his mask working as his personal shield as he floated farther out. “I’d like to see you try.”

George weighed his options very carefully. He couldn’t touch the bottom where he was wading, but the potential of him at least dunking Dream was high. So he swam forward, put his hands on Dream’s shoulders and tried to push him down.

Dream didn’t even flinch as the other waded over and did whatever... this was. He tried to hold back his laughter, to at least give the other a little chance, but it wasn’t working for either party. He started laughing obnoxiously. “What?! What is this! What are you doing, George?”

“I’m trying to prove a point!” He grunted out while he continued to try to shove Dream under. He made more progress this time, but it wasn’t by much.

Dream steadied himself in the water as the other continued to fail to get him completely under. He rolled his eyes playfully. “Oh, come on! I can’t tell if you’re trying to lift yourself up or push me down.” He planted his feet more firmly on the ocean floor and stood at his full height. “Here, this is how you dunk someone!” He commented just before going under, wrapping his arms around George’s waist, and lifting, slinging him over his shoulder like a thrashing sack of potatoes. “I’m gonna throw you on three, ready?”

“What?!” George was flailing around, kicking his legs and trying to find a place to hold. “Throw me?!” 

This wasn’t the first time he had been lifted by Dream, but it was definitely the most threatening time. He was so freaked out at the idea of being thrown like an ender pearl that he almost could ignore all of the skin-to-skin contact he was getting.

Almost.

Dream was laughing like a villain as George squirmed. He adjusted his leverage for the most distance possible. “One…”

“Dream!” George cried. “No!”

“Two…”

_ “Dream!” _

“Okay, okay.” Dream sighed. Then he waited a moment. And another. “One-two-three!” He said all at once like the dick he was, giving no real warning before he launched George only a few feet off into the water. He recoiled as the splash hit his mask.

George hit the water and sank like a drowned rat. He surfaced again, with hair plastered to his forehead and his eyes narrowed bitterly. “You asshole!” He said, sea water leaking from his lips. “You tried to kill me.”

Dream’s smile was beginning to make his face sore. He chuckled. “If I wanted to kill you, I would have just held you under. But you don’t even have the necklace on so I couldn’t have done it anyways.” He brought out the logistics even though nobody asked and they weren’t needed. He knew it would at least warrant an eye roll from the other, so it was worth it. “Not to mention, you’re so light, you’re basically asking to be thrown around. You’re all tiny and portable.” He then proceeded to flex his arm like an asshole for added emphasis. “I could probably bench press you as a workout.”

George contemplated lowering himself in the water and trying to drown. Perhaps it would work this time. “If you try to bench press me, I’ll go feral.” He scrunched his nose. “You’re such a jock, it’s gross.”

Dream shook his head. “I can’t be a jock, jocks don’t know how to use computers.” He lowered himself back into the water, just allowing the top of his shoulders to show. “I would know, I was on the football team, remember? Not ‘soccer’, but true american football.” He emphasized.

“The fact you were a bonafide football player proves that you are, without a doubt, a jock.” George smirked. He pushed himself up a bit in the water so he was just a bit taller than Dream. Just to fluff his own ego a bit. “You’re a jock who just so happens to know where the space bar is.”

“I’m sorry, but remind me which one of us needs my help coding every damn thing he makes? I’ll give you one chance to answer.” He meant it as a rhetorical question, giving the other no time to answer. “I was one of those people who fit anywhere in high school. I wasn’t a jock, the jocks were assholes. I’m not a jock!” He insisted over and over again, not even pausing to breathe.

“Did you know people use less words when they tell the truth than when they lie?” George cocked his eyebrow. “You’re talking a lot for someone who wasn’t a jock.”

“Okay! Fine, then what did you do in high school?” He crossed his arms, standing up straight yet again, putting his height above the other like it should be. “Go on, George, which bullshit stereotypical ’clique’ did you fit into?”

George looked up at him and tried to continue to wade at a steady pace. “I mean, I just did a lot of computer stuff in college. I don’t know if that counts.”

“So you were a nerd. That checks out, even now, you’re still a nerd,” He spoke with his hands gesturing about. “See, if i was a jock - even though i’m not - at least we’d both be consistent.” He defended. “Wait. That’s actually, like, a really good sitcom duo or something.”

George pushed away the intrusive thoughts of Dream in his football uniform and shrugged as he saw a bit further out. “It sounds like a lame show.” He looked out at the water and perked up. “Dream!” He pointed towards the sun half-set against the water. “Dolphins!”

And sure enough, there was a school of dolphins jumping in the distance.

Dream turned quick to look at the dolphins, letting out a small gasp of awe. He let out a chuckle. “This looks like something you’d only see in movies.”

After a brief moment of staring at the dolphins, he looked back at George. George was still looking at the world. And Dream could argue he was looking at  _ his  _ world, even though that would be embarrassing to say word-for-word. It would always catch him off guard with how pretty the other always looked, especially in moments like this. It should be illegal, really, to constantly look nice whichever way you turned.

Or maybe Dream was the only one who thought that strongly about the subject. Who knows? 

Either way, he was still staring at George for far longer than he did at the dolphins. At least his priorities were clear.

George noticed the look after a while. He felt a heat crawling up his cheeks. “Uh, Dream? You good?” He shied up a bit, his voice softening. “Is there something on my face or something?”

Dream was snapped out of it fast, blinking as he realized what he was doing. “No, what? No. Sorry. Zoning out.” He stammered uncooly, trying to think of a way to make it not weird. “I was thinking about sneak attack drowning you. Guess I waited too long.” He made up, hoping the other would buy it.

And of course, George didn’t buy it. He frowned a bit and furrowed his brow. In the sunset, his brown eye looked honey gold, and his blue eye looked almost purple. “Dude, what’s up? You seem off. Did something happen?”

“No. You! You seem off! Why the interrogation? I’m fine.” He shot back, mind running in a thousand different directions at once. He looked back at the sunset, noticing only a sliver of it shone over the water. “It’s getting late, we should probably get out. Drowned might start appearing, or phantoms. I don’t want to be half naked with phantoms attacking.” He tried to find any excuse he could to leave. If he didn’t leave, he’d start to get ideas. Friendship ruining ideas. He didn’t want a repeat of two nights ago.

“I mean, if you say so.” George turned and decided to head back in, his face riddled with confusion and a weird cloud of disappointment. “But, um, now that you mention it? It’s probably best to build a more closed structure tonight. Because of the drowned.” Maybe with some windows he could still wake up to a tropical sunrise - but safety for them came first. “How many, uh...beds do we have?”

Dream waded through the water, trying his best to clamber back to the shore over the tides, “That’s a good idea actually. Also, dude, look,” He pointed at the hut he had already built earlier. “I already put the beds down. We still have the two. Are you sure you're okay?”

“I’m fine.” George insisted. It was a lie, of course, but he would die on this hill. He was fine. And he wasn’t having weird, dumb thoughts that would make Dream hate him. “Just, you know. Tired. Very sleepy.”

Dream caught on that the atmosphere had gotten weird. He made it weird, somehow. But it was fine, he could bounce it back. He always did. It would be fine.

Just before he broke the water line past waist level, he realized something. His boxers were white fabric, which meant they were going to be completely see-through the second he left the water. He slapped his forehead with his palm. “Okay...Okay, George, don’t turn around, but remember how I flaunted my new merch earlier?”

“Yes?” George didn’t turn around, but he started to trade his warm dry clothes for his wet ones inside the privacy of the hut.

Once he was sure George wasn’t going to go against his words, he stepped out of the water, “They’re white, which means they’re basically transparent right now.” He said. “So unless you wanna see my junk, don’t look at me.”

There was silence.

“Dream. You idiot.” Was all George managed to say.

“Toss me my clothes if you can! And don’t look!” He requested, ready to catch his clothes so the other didn’t overshoot and toss them in the water.

George didn’t look. But for half a second he wanted to. Instead, he simply threw Dream’s clothes over his shoulder after he was dressed.

Dream didn’t know what happened. He was ready to catch the clothes. He really was. He was good at catching things. If dodgebolt used real balls instead of bows and arrows, he would win MCC every time. However, all his skill was quickly thrown out the window when it came to this specific moment.

George had tossed without looking. And maybe the raw adrenaline of being mostly naked with exposed genitals around his best friend messed up his aim.

He watched his clothes soar past his head and directly into the ocean behind him. The second it happened, he yelled and scooped the poor garments out of the water, now soaked through almost completely. “No! Fuck! What?! _Why_ did I do that?!” He wailed dramatically. “They fell _in!_ _How did I do that?!_ ”

George then turned around, jumping at the sudden yelling. “Woah, dude, what?” He walked over, cozy and dry in Dream’s sweatshirt, and just watched in shock as the clothes dripped from his arms all over the sand. “Oh...oh, shit.” 

He stood quiet for a moment before giggled started to slip out. And then that dissolved into full blown laughter.

Dream looked down at the wet clothes in his hands in disappointment, positioned just right to cover his junk. He turned his face to the darkening sky and sighed painfully, “I didn’t pack anymore clothes. Who the fuck packs clothes for manhunt?” He whined to the other.

George walked over and stripped off his sweatshirt. “Here. Take this back to sleep in. You go lay out your clothes and I’ll finish the hut. Okay?”

He took the sweatshirt gratefully, shaking his head and chucking at the stupidity of the situation. “Thanks. This is so dumb.” He commented before heading off to throw on the hoodie and fix his clothes up to dry. He turned back and looked at the two beds shoved together and snapped his fingers. He pulled the blanket off his own bed and wrapped it around his waist, then sat back down on the bed while the other got to work with his nightly chores.

“What a lovely skirt. Great fashion choice.” George said as he worked on getting the hut together. He kept many spots for windows open, smiling to himself every time he glanced out at the sea. When it was all done, he walked out to try to find Dream. “Are you all good? Ready for bed?”

“Oh, fuck yeah.” He said while stretching his arms. Exhaustion was hitting him all at once. It was baffling to think that they had been at the woodland mansion only a few hours earlier. They had been through so much. He flopped back and rubbed his face up under his mask, letting out a deep sigh as he did, “I’m literally so exhausted from today it’s not even funny. I’m definitely going to be sore tomorrow.”

George climbed into bed and let out a heavy yawn. “And to think, we’re going to end up doing more dangerous bullshit tomorrow. We really are living the life.”

“Don’t remind me.” He groaned, throwing an arm over where his eyes would be, eyebrows furrowing when his mask dug into his nose. He yawned loudly before continuing. “At least tomorrow is your totem day. With all the traps we’re bound to run into, it’s for the best.”

“Actually...” George trailed off. “Because I had it at the mansion, I thought maybe you could have it at the jungle temple.” He tried to sound nonchalant but he was already prepared for the fight he was about to have to have with Dream.

Dream just sat still for a second, not moving or making a single sound. This argument was getting exhausting, and he wasn’t sure he had the energy to fight it. Instead, he opted to grab the pillow out from under his head and swung it over onto George’s head full-force. “Just take the damn totem already.”

George rolled out of the way to the end of his bed. “No! I’m not just going to take it! Fair is fair, stop being a baby!” He cried.

“I’m too tired to argue this so just agree with me already and take the totem tomorrow!” He pulled the pillow back and swung again, only at half force this time. “I’m not asking you to take it, I'm telling you! There’s a difference, so just do it!”

“And I’m telling you that I will not wear it under any circumstances at the jungle temple! You can’t make me!” George grabbed his own pillow and swung it right at Dream’s face. 

“No, I said-” He started to yell, but was cut off by the force of the pillow. For a second, he was afraid his mask was going to fly off, but he reached up and held it just before it could be loosened. That made him a little angry. He readjusted the mask accordingly and his jaw tightened. “George” He warned the other in a stern low voice, “Don’t do that again. I’m serious. It almost came off.” 

It came off a little dickish, sure, but he pinned it on the exhaustion getting to him. He really was tired of having this argument. All he wanted was for the other to be kept safe and he wasn’t making that easy in the slightest. He was bound to crack eventually, not that he wanted to. George just made it so difficult sometimes, but he guessed George wouldn’t be George if he didn’t start shit on purpose.

George put the pillow back and shrugged. “Sorry. But just take the damn necklace. I don’t understand why you won’t just wear it. I’m doing my part! You’re being unfair!”

He was starting to get irritated. Really irritated. Dream was being a bit of a hypocrite - which wasn’t abnormal, but was definitely starting to make him feel like exploding.

”I’m literally not being unfair!” Dream said. “It literally makes sense. You said it yourself, you’ve never even been in a jungle temple before so why wouldn’t I give you the necklace? I know what traps to avoid. If you get shot in the back of the head from a redstone trap, what do you do then?” The words poured out of his mouth fast, hardly even pausing for a breath.

"But I want you to have it! I am refusing! I might not know everything about the temple but I know that I can't even fathom the idea of watching you almost die again like you did today!" George cried. He was getting heated, sitting up straighter and scowling. His two-toned eyes were full of frustration.

Instinctively, he also began to sit upright. “I won’t die!” He huffed, almost chuckling at the thought. “I just explained why I won’t die. Earlier today was a fluke, a lapse of poor judgement. I let my guard down when I shouldn’t have, and that’s my bad, and I won’t make that dumb mistake again.” He was waving his hands around frantically yet stiffly as he argued, accidentally splaying his arms too far and hitting the wall once or twice as he did.

George sat there, incredulous. And then suddenly, it’s like a bubble popped. He scowled and his eyes welled up with angry tears. “You can be such an asshole, you know that?”

Dream froze. “...what?” 

“I thought you died for real today and you don’t even care.” 

“George-”

“You keep thinking that you’re being all nice but you aren’t considering my feelings at all. I am telling you what I want. Don’t assume what I need. I am worried about you. Why don’t you take my feelings about you seriously? Why don’t you ever take my feelings about you seriously?!” He cried. He was so angry that his nails were digging deep into the palms of his hands. “Jesus Christ, Dream, just let me care about you! Let me worry about whether or not you’re going to die! Let me be stressed, too! Let me force you to wear the fucking necklace! Wear it, because if I see you die again I will not be able to fucking handle it!”

He let the air between them settle as the other finished before giving the other a response. “George...” He struggled to find something to say, nothing in his head sounded like a good enough answer. He settled for something simple, hoping his softened voice would accommodate for the words he lacked. “Look, I...I’m sorry. I won’t argue with you about this anymore, okay? I’ll wear it tomorrow, easy as that.” He tried, hoping it would calm the other down.

George wiped his eyes and shook his head. “Yeah, yeah. Thanks. Whatever. Let’s just go to bed.” He sniffled. He pulled up his covers and buried himself in his bed, facing away. His anger had spiked up, and then crashed down like a wave, leaving him tired and pouty and just plain sad.

Dream still really didn’t want to wear the necklace. But he knew arguing his point further would just make everything worse, and god forbid George hate him for anything. He wanted to make things right, even though he hated defeat or ever being in the wrong. He just didn’t know the best way to go about it.

He wanted to reassure the other somehow. Physical contact was always his go-to. He wanted to give him a hug, a pat, something that could possibly make him feel better, but he couldn’t bring himself to. He always felt terrible when George cried, and it was even worse that it was him that made him cry.

He resolved to giving up as the other turned over and he followed suit by shifting himself into bed soon after. The air was tense and unnerving. He hated it. He hated it more than anything. He tried to cut through it by muttering a small, “G’night, George,” over his shoulder behind him. He reached up and took off his mask, setting it on the crafting table beside the bed before settling into his pillow, praying that the rancid vibes of the night would be gone by morning.

Halfway through the night, George awoke from his turbulent sleep covered in sweat. The sounds of the drowned outside didn’t make him feel any better. He sat up for a little, shaking, until he just muttered a quiet comment in his defeat before scooting to lay on the edge of Dream’s bed and buried his face in his friend’s back.


	5. Chapter 5

**DAY FIVE**

**Objective: Clear The Jungle Temple**

**Totem:** ~~**George** ~~

**Acquired: Moon Totem**

The sun rose over the water behind their small hut, light bouncing off the vast ocean and pouring through the windows like a golden wave. Dream scrunched his face as he slowly awoke, raising an arm to shield his sensitive eyes from the blinding morning light. He peeked one eye open, wondering why the hell George put so many damn windows on their temporary house for the night. 

He didn’t expect to open his eyes and see George snuggled up on his chest, still fast asleep and breathing softly. It was a strong contrast to how the night had ended the day prior, and it still made his heart pound. George’s body rose and fell with each unsteady breath Dream took. 

Dream couldn’t decide on if he should wake the other up, slide out of bed as sneakily as possible, or just wait and let George sleep a little longer. Some options or methods of escape he could think of made him guilty. He didn’t want to ruin the others' sleep. George probably needed it more than him. He took a breath and decided to just wait, very quietly reaching over to the crafting table for his mask, just in case the other woke up.

Of course, though, George woke up the very second Dream started moving. His eyes fluttered open and he let out a small whimper as he was shifted around. He pushed himself up on his hands, and his bleary eyes landed right on Dream’s bare face.

And just like that, Dream’s heart sank into his guts. All processing stopped the second George looked up at him. Maskless. Bare faced. Exposed. Vulnerable. You’d think he would have tried to put his mask on in a rush, push George away to throw him off, or, hell, at least use his hands to cover his face. 

None of that happened. Nothing happened. No one moved a muscle.. Instead he just sat there. Frozen. His uncovered green eyes staring at the others multicolored ones in pure disbelief and terror.

But George, in all his half-asleep glory, just muttered out something about how hot it was outside, and then flopped back down with his head on Dream’s stomach, completely passed out once again. 

Dream was in complete shock. He was utterly speechless at what just happened. But he was so, so ungodly grateful for whatever did just happen. He made haste with getting his mask on after that, promising himself that from now on he would wear it to bed, even if it meant it would dig into his nose overnight. He couldn’t risk something like that again. It was too much. He finally let out a sigh of relief that he didn’t know he was holding in and tried to relax after the big scare.

Instinctively he began threading his fingers through the other’s hair, idly playing with it as George slept. His hands were shaky from the rush of anxiety and he hoped occupying them would calm him down a little bit. George’s hair was soft. It was a lovely distraction.

It was going to be a long day.

George stayed asleep for roughly an hour after that, fully knocked out. When he did start to stir, he quickly noticed the fingers in his hair and tried to roll out of reach. “Ugh...Why is it so hot in here...Fuck the beach...” He grumbled, rubbing his eyes.

Dream rolled his eyes and his lips quirked into a smile, taking his hand back as George moved away. “Because  _ someone _ decided to put giant windows on the house. It’s like a damn sauna in here.” Dream was safe to assume George didn’t remember anything from earlier, which was a huge relief. George’s groggy memory was a blessing sometimes. And Dream wasn’t about to remind him about it either. “Good morning, sleeping beauty. Sleep well?”

“No. Nightmares.” He yawned and started to push himself up. “I’m too tired for this shit.” He started to stretch his arms. “I’m so ready to just get on the road.”

Dream sat up with him and stretched his arms upwards. “Alright, then let's start packing up, shall we?” He grabbed the edge of the comforter to get up, but paused just before he pulled them back. He looked up at George and twirled his finger. “Unless you want an eyeful, I suggest you turn around.”

George scoffed. “Oh, please. I already got an eyeful earlier. It can’t get any worse.”

Dream gave the other an incredulous look. “What? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Dude, your boxers were clear last night.” George laughed, and then stood to go deal with his own belongings. “It’s all uphill from there.”

Dream scoffed. “I told you not to look, that’s your own fault.” He wrapped his hands around the blanket and decided to just use it to cover himself as he stood. He was a little bit embarrassed, as anyone would be in such a situation, and naturally he coped with it the only way he knew how. “Did you at least like what you saw?”

“I’ve seen worse.” George felt a weird burst of courage as he got his equipment together, and he was tempted to say something weirder back. But he held off. He wanted to keep things light - especially with the temple in their future today.

He still made Dream laugh though. “Ouch.” He replied, as he shimmied over to his now dry clothes. He didn’t waste a second as he pulled his boxers and pants on, happy to finally be decent.

The rest of their morning went smoothly. They both got ready. They packed up the hut along with the rest of their supplies. They fed Patches. Everything was going great, and hell, Dream even put the totem on without a single complaint. He wanted to complain - oh, did he want to - but he refrained for the sake of George. He felt like he owed it to him, and that was as good of a reason as any to comply, even if his pride was shaken by admitting defeat.

When they both were on the horse, George looked over his shoulder. “Only an hour or two worth of a ride before we hit the jungle. Nervous?”

Dream was fidgeting with the totem around his neck. “I’ve already said how I think this is a bad idea. Of course I’m nervous!” He snarked back. The day had already presented itself by being as anxiety-inducing as possible. The potential of dying in an abandoned structure again certainly didn’t add anything good to the vibes. He twirled the totem on the chain one last time before letting it fall, clanking against his chest plate. “I’ve got a bad feeling, y’know?”

“I think it’ll be fine.” George said. “And I’ve got your back no matter what.” He smiled to try to reassure his friend before kicking Patches’ sides and sending them racing towards the next part of their journey. 

When they eventually got to the jungle, the humidity skyrocketed. The air was thick and scented with exotic flowers and fruits. Bugs were everywhere, and Patches was struggling to walk in the underbrush. 

Dream looked up at the treetops above, watching the colorful birds chase each other and weave in and out of the way of branches. The tropical humidity didn’t affect him. In fact, it made him feel more at home. Everything in the jungle was so bright and beautiful, brilliantly colored with a variety of lively sounds. Even that couldn’t calm his nerves, though. Everything about the scenery was as it should be, and yet it still put him on edge.

He was really overthinking things. He lightly smacked his cheeks to knock himself out of his little funk and tried to shove the horrible feeling down. He should be  _ excited _ . He tried to convince himself to be excited. He was taking George to see a jungle temple for the first time. That was  _ cool _ . He got to experience so many cool new things with George on this little trip. He was showing George the world. That’s something he had always wanted. 

He needed to stop worrying so strongly about it. He knew that. He just needed to get better at convincing himself.

George, meanwhile, was already uncomfortable. Not emotionally, though, but physically. The sticky air made his clothes damp and made his skin crawl. He didn’t exactly like it. But he took a cue from Dream not to worry too much about it. Dream looked so relaxed - so George decided to be more like him. He sat up straighter and just tried to hide how horrible all of these bugs were. 

He looked down at his map and scowled. “The temple should be around us. Like...Right in front of us. I don’t see it. There are too many damn vines.”

Dream made no move to try and look for the temple, too caught up in his own thoughts to pay attention. He was still busy observing all the weird jungle animals. It wasn’t often they traversed this biome, and the distraction was gladly appreciated. Dream opted to shoot back a half-assed reply. “Have you tried opening your eyes?”

“My eyes are wide open!” George cried. He waved his arms around as he shouted. “But there are only leaves!” He let out a frustrated groan and pushed up his glasses. “Why is a jungle nothing but fucking leaves?”

Dream rolled his eyes theatrically and decided to take a look for himself.

Well, that’s what he would have done - if he were not immediately smacked in the face by a low branch that hadn’t even come near hitting George in all his short glory. He made a surprised yelp and started frantically flailing to shove the offending branch away. “Why didn’t you warn me to duck?!”

“Duck what?” George turned around. “Is something wrong?” He turned to look at Dream’s little temper tantrum, but instead he saw the shape of a building out of vines behind him. “Oh! There we go! Good call, Dream. Let’s go!”

Dream’s face fell from anger to irritation, his mouth pressing into a flat line. He knew George was a smart man, but damn, did he have his moments.

Patches pulled up easy to the jungle temple and his stomach sank at the sight of it. It wasn’t normal. It was bigger, much bigger, and it was structured completely differently from any other jungle temple he had ever been in. The cobble, mossy and clean alike, had been replaced by stone brick of varying types. Where the mouth of the temple should have been, there were withered stairs ascending to the peak of the structure. The whole thing was shaped like a pyramid, towering high above them. The most disturbing thing, though, was that the structural integrity of the mass seemed to be on the brink. It looked like it was on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

If the inside was as changed as the outside, then that meant Dream had no idea of what kind of traps were inside. Everything just got worse and worse as the odds against them piled up, and his worry was beginning to show on his face. He grabbed the others shoulder to get his attention. “George, this isn’t right. That can’t be the jungle temple.”

“Yes it is!” George pointed at the map. “See! I mean, sure, it doesn’t look normal I guess but that’s it.” George stopped Patches and started to struggle to dismount. “This will be fun! More to explore!”

Dream smacked his mask in irritation. “No, this means more danger, idiot! I don’t know anything about a temple like this. Hell, I don’t even think there’s records of a temple like this. It’s dangerous.” He made no move to get off the horse, too worried to notice George’s struggle. He rubbed his hand down his mask, making a little squeaking noise in the process. “I don’t even think we can mine out way through this thing, either. It looks like it’ll topple any second. This isn’t safe.”

George was already on the ground, brushing himself off and tying up Patches. “This is going to be great! I’m so excited. I think we should go up the stairs and enter from the top - that way we don’t risk triggering a cave-in.”

Dream swung himself off the horse, waving his arms outwards in disbelief. “Did you not hear me? I don’t think we should go in at all. I thought this would be a normal temple. I was willing to go through with that, but I didn’t sign up for... this.” He gestured aggressively to the temple in question with a rage akin to if the building itself had damned his bloodline. “Give me one good reason as to why we should risk this.”

George looked up at him and held up the map. “Because we have to see what happens.” He said it like it was the most obvious thing. “I don’t want to leave this unfinished. And we’re getting it all on camera. This is insane, Dream! How can you not be excited!”

Dream couldn’t think of a way to argue that would cause the other to budge. He didn’t want a fight. He  _ wanted _ to trust George. So he caved. He let out a long exhale and grabbed the hilt of his sword. “Fine. You win. Let’s explore the dangerous mysterious collapsing not-jungle temple and potentially die in the process. Lead the way.” 

George smiled. “Thank you. For trusting me.” He reached out and squeezed Dream’s bicep. He felt warm, and he radiated that warmth to Dream. “Let’s go.” He turned and started to walk up the stone steps. They were chipping under his feet as he walked, but he didn’t seem to care. He was too focused on getting to the top. “Okay, so the goal is to find a totem. I think? Or something along those lines.”

Dream was trying to be so careful of the steps beneath them, half-listening to the other babble. He was watching George’s feet as they ascended, ready to catch him if he slipped.

However, he was paying too much attention to George instead of himself because the next thing he knew, he found himself slipping. He, thankfully, fell forwards and slammed his hands down on the brick beneath them, wincing as he felt his palms scrape painfully. His eyebrow twitched in frustration as he forced himself back upright. “This better be worth it.” He mumbled angrily under his breath, wiping the debris off his hands and watching his feet more carefully as they trekked up the structure.

When they reached the top, George was still in good spirits. “Okay, lets see. I don’t have any ladders so I might just jump in.” He crossed his arms as he thought. “I think it’s probably in the center, yeah? So we need to get there.”

Dream grabbed George’s shoulder and yanked him back. “What? Are you crazy? Do you even have a water bucket on you? Don’t just go jumping into mystery pits, there could be a trap down there.”

“Then do you want to make the plunge first?” George gestured. “Because if you don’t, I will. I’m too eager to wait today.” He smirked. “Can’t risk you trying to back out again.”

Dream looked down the chasm and felt a little light headed. His nerves were betraying him and it really was not the time for his fear of heights to be kicking in. He swallowed hard then shook his head, forcing the feelings away. He shuffled around in his inventory for a second before pulling out the boat that he had been carrying the past few days. 

He kept the boat in hand and counted to three mentally before jumping. The wind rushed past his ears, chilling his whole body as he plummeted. I’m just the last moment, he slammed the boat down and caught himself in it, leaving him with no damage and a successful landing.

He cheered for himself, throwing his fists in the air and yelled. “ _ Let’s go _ !” He flinched when he realized the horrible echo it made around him. He glanced up at the top of the shaft to look at George, for some reason feeling like he wouldn’t have been there had he not checked.

George was following behind Dream, jumping then catching himself every few meters with a well-placed block. It took him longer than Dream but was just as safe, and he landed delicately next to him. “See? This place is fine.” George dusted off his hands and started walking towards the first door he saw. “I’m telling you, this is-“

And instantly, he tripped a wire on the floor and an arrow flew through the air, grazing his thigh and cutting a large hole in his jeans and his flesh.

“George!” Dream was at his side in an instant, one hand on George’s back and the other on his forearm. He squeezed his arm firmly. “I told you to be careful! There’s so many traps in here it’s not even funny. Are you alright? Are you hurt?” He asked. 

George flexed both legs, wincing but nodding. “I’m fine, I’m fine.” He leaned into the other’s touch. “I’m going to be fine. It’s just a cut.” He looked up and down the dark hall in front of them. “I, um. I see what you mean though. About the traps. Noted.”

Dream let out a sigh of relief as he pulled away from the other. “Jesus, George, don’t freak me out like that. Hold on.” He pulled up his inventory and took out one of his torches, holding it in his nondominant hand, lighting the area around them.

Dream then nudged George away from the tripwire, getting his sword up under it and snapping the string with ease. He turned back to him. “Let me give you a little rundown of the traps that should be down here. There’s mostly going to be tripwires and pressure plates, so keep your eyes down at your feet, okay? If we want to be extra careful, we can walk side by side and hold our shields on the opposite ends of each other in case we trigger something. Does that sound good?” Dream had continued his habit of overthinking everything. 

“Whatever you think is best.” George said. “Let’s just get moving. I’m less concerned about a cave-in now and more worried that yet another arrow is going to rip me a new one.”

George stayed close to Dream as they kept walking. Maybe he was even getting more keen on the idea of listening to his friend. His glasses made it harder to see, and just as he was about to take them off and put them away, he stepped on a pressure plate which triggered yet another arrow. The same leg was grazed again, but higher up his thigh. He let out a pained yelp, followed by a frustrated groan. “The glasses are going away. I’m too blind for this shit.”

Dream gasped again, but this time he devolved into nervous giggles shortly after. His eyes were full of panic, though, and no laughing could even start to cover that up. “George, come on. Why do you keep doing this?” He shook his head. “Here, I’ll just take the lead. Step where I step.”

He moved ahead, carefully weaving over wires, around pressure plates, and taking time to plug up any dispensers they passed by. To an outsider's perspective, it’d look like he’d been through these halls before and knew every trick the temple had to offer. 

“How many hearts are you on?” Dream asked.

“Eight. I’m fine.” George brushed him off.

He would occasionally pause to look back at George to make sure he was still following and not getting filled with more arrows. Luckily, he didn’t have much to fear about. George did much better with Dream leading the way. He had no slip-ups, no risk of getting hurt. He just followed to the end of the hall and it went great. 

“How are you so good at this, dude?” He asked as he rejoined Dream by his side.

Dream shrugged with a small smile on his face. “I’m just that good.” He boasted, his ego ever-present as always. It made George chuckle. Dream gave George a once over, making sure he was actually okay before turning to the door behind them.

It was a large stone door with two heavy metal handles, similar to one back at the desert temple. A chill ran up his spine at the sight of it. If this temple was anything like the last, that meant that the goods they were looking for were hopefully in the next room, waiting to be claimed. He looked over at George and gestured a thumb to the door. “This is it. Ready?”

“Ready.” George nodded. “I’ll let you lead the way, though. Not trying to get semi-shot again.” He chuckled. He tried to ignore how gross the feeling was of the blood in his jeans. It was going to be a nightmare to clean. “But go ahead. I’m ready as I’ll ever be.”

Dream nodded and yanked on the handle. The doors were significantly heavier than the ones in the desert temple and it caught him off guard. Once the doors were cracked enough, he stepped inside, holding the door open for the other to slip through. 

Once they were both in the room, he let go of the door and it slammed shut loudly, echoing in the small space. He raised the torch to examine the area, noticing that it was nothing like the last temple. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He expected a decked out ocean themed room with a chest full of goodies - not an empty, dusty, cobweb ridden room full of nothing but air.

No. Not nothing. The closer he looked, the more he noticed. 

The walls were carved with weird symbols - not any language he was familiar with, and not any pictures he could recognize. The room’s floor and ceiling were spared from the markings, but they were covered in odd smear marks. On the ground in front of the door, Dream saw two stone pressure plates ready to be tripped. He held out an arm to keep George from tripping them, then pointed at them. “Another trap. I don’t know what it does, so be careful.”

George let out an ‘oof’ as his chest hit Dream’s arm. He leaned forward and groaned. “Don’t you start injuring me too, then.” But when he leaned forward, his glasses slid off his head, out of his hair, and landed on the pressure plate right in front of him. 

Dream’s heartbeat was roaring in his ears. “Holy fuck!” He hissed.

But nothing happened. 

Dream exhaled in relief. “It wasn’t heavy enough. Holy shit.”

George breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, and bent down to grab them. “What a stroke of luck.” As he bent down, though, an electric strike of pain ran up his leg. His injured leg gave out from the movement of bending over and he slipped, landing on both pressure plates at once with a loud thud.

Dream tried to catch him, but was a second too late. His eyes widened when George slammed down on the pressure plates, and braced himself for the barrage of arrows or fire charges or something to launch their way.

But the arrows never came. Instead, the sound of old grinding pistons filled the room as the floor in front of them opened up to reveal a dark endless looking chasm. The doors behind them slammed shut, trapping the two men in a room that was becoming floorless.

Dream quickly tried to help George back up and get him away from the pit, holding him close. Adrenaline and worry were running through his veins. The continuous spikes of terror were starting to become less impactful. It was becoming irritating, and his urge to go back on his promise of wearing the totem got stronger and stronger. Dream looked down at George and spoke with a serious tone as the room rumbled. “I’m only going to ask you once and then I’ll leave it alone, but do you want to take the necklace?” He cried, his green eyes focused on the abyss that was getting closer and closer.

George shook his head. “Fuck no.” 

“I can’t stand you.” Dream said. “You know I hate heights, right? This is bullshit.”

George laughed at that and curled his fingers in Dream’s sleeve. “I know.” And he gave Dream one last, exhausted smile before the ground under them opened up and swallowed the pair whole. 

The fall was long. That was an odd thing that George remembered thinking about. This fall was  _ long _ . And it felt even longer considering he couldn’t see where he would land. When they did finally stop falling, George felt the water in his lungs before he felt it on his skin. It was warm water, and it was salty. His mind jumped to the night before, in the ocean. It was a weirdly relaxing thought to have before the soreness of landing in the water started to creep into his bones. 

He wanted to check to see how many hearts he had. He wanted to see if he still had all his belongings. But he couldn’t even figure out how to make it to the surface. He couldn’t even figure out where he  _ was. _

Meanwhile, Dream was certain that he was going to hit something hard. His whole life flashed before his eyes when he instead hit the water. For a moment, he thought he was dead. Why would there be water under this temple? But then it all clicked. When he felt the warmth of the water around him, it took his panicked brain a second to process that they had fallen into a safe pool, completely uninjured.

His survival instincts kicked in and he quickly swam to the top, slicking back his hair as he emerged from the dark pool. Sight wasn’t going to help him now, and so he didn’t even try to look around. He instead started feeling his way around the water, looking for a ledge to latch onto with his sore hands. That’s when he also noticed the silence where he was - he couldn’t hear another person splashing.

When he didn’t get an answer, Dream ducked back under the water, reaching his hands as far as he could to try and feel around for George. His mind started racing to the worst scenario. The idea he could pull up a corpse instead of his friend was something he didn’t even want to dwell on. 

He started to regret wearing the necklace. George hating him was better than George being dead. 

Alarm bells rang in Dream’s mind when his fingertips brushed the edge of some fabric and he chased it, wrapping it in his fist and pulling hard as he swam back to the surface. George knew the second he felt a pull that it was Dream. He felt it in his gut. He didn’t resist it - he let himself be dragged straight up through the water. 

When he broke the surface, he gasped for air and flailed around until he could grab on to what he assumed was Dream’s shoulders. He couldn’t get a word out, too busy clearing his lungs of water, but he held on tight and tried to get his eyes to adjust to the dark. A wave of relief washed over Dream when George started coughing, even though George’s water-vomit was splashing on his cheek. All of his worries slowly left his panicked mind, letting him focus on finding the nearest ledge.

George was safe. That’s all he ever needed to know.

Dream was thankfully a good enough swimmer to keep both of them afloat as he searched, and was relieved when he finally, finally found a ledge in the dark. He mumbled something to George to guide him up, helping make sure he got out of the water first before helping himself. George crawled up weakly, needing a lot of encouragement.

When he finally helped himself up onto the ledge, he took the opportunity to lay on his back and just breathe. He didn’t feel exhausted for the moment, but he knew he would be tired as all hell once they left this godforsaken place. This temple wasn’t  _ fair. _ It was torturous and cruel and he wanted to leave so badly. When he caught his breath, he decided to check on the other. “George, are you okay? What’s your life at?” He straightened out his mask.

George, splayed out next to him, barely had the energy to check. “...two hearts.” He said with heaving breaths. He coughed against and felt around his head and chest. “Where are my glasses?”

Dream sat up and rummaged through his inventory, pulling out a new torch to light the room around them. The glasses weren’t anywhere to be seen, just a tunnel behind them and the dark pool before them. He pointed to the water. “There, probably.” He turned towards George. “There’s no way you’re getting them back, dude.”

“Fuck.” He tried to sit up but his chest was too sore. “I needed those. My eyes are too sensitive for this shit.” He winced as he rolled onto his side. “Is this normal? For a temple like this?”

“Jungle temples typically only have a few arrow traps inside with a little lever puzzle and some mediocre treasure. I’ve never seen a pit drop trap used in one before” He climbed to his feet, letting out an annoyed huff that his clothes were soaked. Again. “I already said the way this place was built wasn’t normal. None of this is normal. That’s the scariest part, I don’t know what to expect next!”

“Then we have to just keep going.” George pushed himself up onto his knees. “Could be worse, yeah? We both lived.”

Dream clenched his jaw. “You’re on two hearts, I'd hardly call that living.” He proceeded to check his own watch. He was in the clear, all nine hearts wonderfully present. “I’m on nine. I must have died without realizing it. You sure you’re good without the necklace?” He tried once more, praying to any god that would listen that George would budge. He held out his hand for him, willing to help the other up if he needed it.

“I’m fine, Dream.” George waved him off and stood on his own, swaying a bit as he did. “Let’s just keep going.”

That was his mantra. ‘Let’s just keep going’.

George looked around and pointed to a door far across the room. “Come on. There’s an exit.” He started walking ahead - or limping, rather - before even checking with Dream. He knew he couldn’t check in with Dream, because he knew Dream would tell him to stop.

Dream’s eyebrows furrowed as he followed after him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Okay, but could you at least sit down? Please? Or eat something? Heal up just a little bit? You can’t even walk right, it’s not safe to push your-“ He stopped in his tracks as the floor clicked beneath him, followed by an ejection noise and a loud snap that echoed through the whole room.

His heart skipped a beat as the arrow landed dead between his eyes, but there was no pain. He expected pain, then death, then revival. Instead, the all too familiar pressure of the elastic ever present around his head gave way, and the two halves of the white plastic clattering to the ground.

His hand let go of George and the torch, both flying to his face to cover himself. Anxiety set in when he found the mask was clearly no longer there. It was his one comfort item. The one thing that always made him feel secure. He muttered a string of curses under his breath. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. This temple wants me dead, I swear to god.” He panicked, wishing the torch had snuffed out when it fell to at least allow him to gather his thoughts without having to worry about visuals.

George’s eyes were still adjusting when he flinched at the loud sound. He didn’t even process the fact the mask was now on the floor, he was too busy panicking at the idea Dream had just been shot in the face. “Dream!” He cried. “Dream, fuck, are you okay?” He ignored the soreness of his body and rushed forward to grab Dream’s shoulder. “Fuck, what happened?” He finally realized what was going on when his foot accidentally nudged one half of the mask. He looked down at the ground and his eyes went wide. “Oh...shit...”

Dream waved one of his hands outwards to signify he was all right physically, still covering the part of his face that mattered with his other, “I’m - I’m fine, I’m not hurt, I’m not hurt, I just- damn it!” His jaw jutted forward as he pouted. He was much more upset about this than he should have been. It was just a stupid face covering, after all. A shitty disguise he created and kept from when he was a kid. It was stupid.  _ He _ was stupid for making such a big deal out of it and worrying George.

He couldn’t bring himself to remove his other hand, though. Seconds were passing and he was frozen in time. His voice was shaky when he finally tried to speak. “It’s fine, I’m just stupid. It’s stupid anyways. I don’t need it.” He was clearly trying to convince himself more than the other, and it wasn’t working. “Listen, can we just...keep going? Please? It’s fine, I’ll be fine, really.”

“Clay.” George’s voice was soft. “Do we need to take a break? We can just sit for a second.” He kept his hand on Dream’s shoulder. He tried to avoid looking at his face out of respect. Or was it nervousness? It was some kind of pit in his stomach, a mixture of dread and excitement. He didn’t like the feeling at all. He just wanted to comfort Dream. “Clay. Come on. It‘s okay. We can try to make you a new one, right?”

Dream shook his head. “No, no, I just really want to get out of here. I’ll deal with it when we get out of here.”

“Clay-”

“I’ll suck it up. I’ll be fine, let’s just go!” He tried to urge the other to move on. He tried to think of some last minute solution, a way to keep hiding his face. He always had a solution, he  _ always  _ made it out, but nothing came to mind this time. His head was racing - or was it empty? He couldn’t tell. He just crossed his fingers George would keep his eyes off him and let the two of them keep going on this horrifying rollercoaster of a day without much fanfare.

Of course, though, that didn’t happen.

“Clay, I’m serious.” George kept his eyes down but started to rub small circles on Dream’s shoulder. “I can tell you’re not okay. You can talk to me.”

Dream took in a rigid breath and tried to will his hands to stop shaking so violently. It wasn’t working for him. He swallowed hard before beginning. “I don’t know, I just always did this when I was a kid. I don’t know why. I don’t...I don’t like how I feel without it. It’s so stupid, but...” He trailed off as tears began to clog his throat. Nothing sounded right to him. It all sounded like a bunch of stupid excuses. Stupid excuses that didn’t matter and meant nothing.

“Keep going.” George whispered a little encouragement.

“It’s - I’m like, vulnerable? It’s so dumb. It was just a dumb habit I had as a kid that I keep dragging on. People like it, so I kept on with it. It’s like - It’s like a stupid comfort thing. Most people just have, like, a baby blanket or stuffed animal or something, but I went with a mask.” It wasn’t the perfect description, but it was the best explanation he could muster. Despite everything, he actually managed to huff out a little laugh. “I thought I was a...A hero when I was a kid, you know?” He paused. “I  _ wanted  _ to be a hero...I had my hero mask, my fake name, all of it. I dragged it on until I was way too old and my dad hated it. He thought I was gonna get bullied or something. I didn’t, surprisingly. I just liked it. I was safe and I was a  _ hero  _ so I could help everyone around me. I wasn’t just some kid.” The more he talked about his childhood, the more calm he felt himself getting. He was actually a little surprised he didn’t tell George about all of it sooner. 

He leaned against the wall next to him as his mind began to relax, little by little. He thought about removing his hand for a moment, but the idea was quickly thwarted when his stomach protested, sinking at the mere idea of it. He took a deep breath. “I really need to get over it. It’s really stupid.”

George shook his head. “It’s not stupid. It’s sweet.” 

Dream’s body was still shaking from the panic, but he could feel himself calming down. “I guess?” He chuckled. “I mean, I just wanted to be bigger than myself.”

“Don’t we all?”

“Yeah. Probably.” He didn’t know why he spilled all his history, or why it helped at all, but he was thankful George wasn’t a prick about it. 

George didn’t respond to the last comment. All he did was pull Dream in for a hug. That’s all he needed to do. He still didn’t look, he just buried his face in Dream’s chest and squeezed him as tight as he could. Dream didn’t realize how much he needed a hug, but he melted into it without a second thought. It was the only thing that got him to move his hands from his face, wrapping both of his arms tightly around George, refusing to let go for that moment.

He felt all of his pent up emotions swell, and he couldn’t tell if he needed to punch something or cry or both. He refrained from doing either, being sure to keep it inside for the time being. Holding George was much more therapeutic, and a lot more productive than slamming his fist on some rock. They both smelled like sticky salt water and sweat, but in that moment it was the sweetest scent to Dream.

He didn’t want to let go of the other when he did, but they couldn’t stand there embracing each other forever, even if he wanted to. For all he knew, the floor could disappear again. When Dream pulled back from the hug, he kept his head turned sharply to the side, but he didn’t make a move to cover anything this time. He wanted to, he truly wanted to, but he felt like he shouldn’t hide it in front of George anymore. “Let’s just get through this stupid shithole already, shall we?” He didn’t even look in George’s direction as he spoke. He couldn’t bring himself to yet. Not even a small glance. He silently hoped he didn’t take it too personally.

George kept a hand on Dream’s arm and led him deeper into the tunnel. He avoided looking at all costs, just in case. He knew, eventually, that he would have to look. This couldn’t go on forever. But he wanted Dream to have all the privacy he could. Certain things just take time. He led them through the darkness, eyes squinted from the lack of light. “Got anymore torches?”

“I’ll check.” Dream turned to look through his inventory.

“Okay. Let’s see...” George let go of Dream’s arm only for a moment, only to step forward and take a look for traps. 

But he hit a trip wire. And got shot right in his left shoulder.

And just like that, Dream was snapped back into the reality of the situation. Any insecurities went away. All of his protective instincts kicked in without a moment's hesitation as he reached out and grabbed the other forcefully. He fumbled for a second while trying to get the totem off his neck before he shoved it in George’s face. “Put it on. Now.” He demanded, refusing to take no for an answer. He was too tired to argue, too tired to fight, and way too exhausted to worry about him right now. George had been clumsy since the moment they stepped foot inside, and he wasn’t about to deal with the grief of losing both his most valuable possession and George in the same day. He didn’t even bother to entertain the thought further. 

“No.” George grunted out, taking a sharp inhale before ripping out the arrow and screaming. His pained noises echoed on the walls, and he doubled over. “No, I’m not taking it, I’m fine.” He grunted out. He could feel the warm blood spreading faster on his wet shirt.

He looked at his wrist. Half a heart. He wasn’t going to tell Dream that. 

“Come on.” George stood up on shaking legs, clutching his shoulder. “Let’s just get to that room, okay?”

Dream took a deep, tired breath. George’s noises made him flinch hard and he decided he couldn’t bear it anymore. He took the necklace and slid it over George’s neck. “Yell at me all you want once we get out of here. This is literally an emergency and I’d rather have you pissed off at me than dead.” He willed his voice to sound stern, but it came off more exhausted than anything. He then forced George to grab his hand for support, knowing he was about to collapse at any moment. He began to walk the two of them to the end of the corridor, pointing out the traps as they went so George didn’t gain yet another wound.

They went through a set of iron doors at the back of the tunnel with no issues, and they entered a small room with a single chest in the middle. George was putting his full weight on Dream, bitter about the necklace but also desperately trying to respect his privacy and not look at his face. The second part was surprisingly easy when his main focus was the blood pouring out of his wound and dripping down his torso. It pooled at the hem of his pants.

“Come on.” George grunted out. “Let’s get the shit and go.”

Dream brought him all the way to the chest, relieved to finally feel like there was an end to this hellish nightmare. “Do you want to do the honors or should I?” He offered, hoping maybe that if George got the treasure it would knock some vitality into him. Maybe it would even heal him spontaneously. Who knows at this point? Dream was willing to think that anything could happen in these places they kept ending up.

George hobbled forward. “I am getting this payoff if it kills me.”

And it would. 

He bent down on his knees and opened the chest. He left out a relieved sigh and pulled out the sun totem and a few other small items he didn’t take the time to look at. He put everything in his inventory. “We can fucking go!” He cried happily. 

But then the ground started to shake. And the ceiling started to as well. Bits of stone and moss and dust started to fall from the roof. And the walls started to crumble.

It was slow. Dangerously slow. Was it slow motion in their minds, or genuinely a slow fall? They would never know. All they knew is that the room was getting shorter and shorter. And the tunnel outside the door was too. And George came to the peaceful and defeated conclusion that the chest was a trap and they were doomed.

Dream’s relief that they’d finally be leaving was quickly overcome by fear. He looked up towards the ceiling and was a little caught off guard when a piece of gravel bounced off his forehead. He wasted no time trying to look for the exit, heart rate speeding up as his survival mind kicked into overdrive. He ran to the nearest wall and began feeling around for a secret button, a lever, a hidden door, anything that could mean escape from the situation they were in. 

He found nothing. He came up completely empty handed. He thought about digging apart the wall, but that would only make everything crumble sooner. It was only a matter of time before they were crushed. 

Killed. 

Wiped out. 

Game over.

Dream started shaking his head in denial and slammed his fist down on the walls. “No, no, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me. This isn’t happening. This has got to be some twisted fucking joke!”

A part of the ceiling above him began caving in, small bits of rubble falling onto his head, forcing him back to the center of the room. That’s when he looked over at George, looking him dead on with an overly-emotional expression that was usually so carefully hidden. He had a look of dread in his eyes, fully visible and terrified. His lips were curled in a grimace. His thick eyebrows were pulled together.

All of the things Dream wanted to say were caught in his throat. A goodbye? A plea for help? Final words? A world-ending speech? All of it seemed so bitter to him now. He didn’t want to admit it was over, didn’t want to throw in the towel, but his head was, once again, for the first time, completely barren of ideas.

George was struggling to his feet when he finally looked at Dream. He just stared at Dream, eyes wide, the reality of everything crashing down in his mind. But there was a moment where the shock of seeing his face drowned everything else out, and George had to shake his head to come back to reality. 

But in that moment, for some reason, everything confusing he had felt over the last three years of friendship finally clicked. 

“Dream.” George said, limping towards him. “I want you to take the necklace.” He started to try to take it off, but his hands were shaking too badly to move as fast as he needed to. “If you have it, you have a higher chance of getting out of here. You could tunnel out. I don’t want any arguing. I don’t want to hear a single word.” A large piece of rubble smashed down next to him and shook the ground, making him sway and stumble forward closer to Dream.

Dream grabbed George’s hands tightly, both steadying him and preventing him from taking the necklace off. He shook his head, his voice firm when he spoke. “No, that’s not happening. You’re going to wear the necklace and you’re going to tunnel out of here.”

His hands were trembling as he traced his thumb over the back of George’s hand. Tears started welling in his eyes. He took a shaky breath. “I’m not - I won’t be able to ever forgive myself if I leave without you. I can’t do that, George.” His voice was soft now, wavering as tears quietly trailed down his cheeks.

“You’re so stubborn.” George started to laugh through the tears welling in his eyes.

“What?” Dream frowned.

“You’re so damn stubborn.” He squeezed Dream’s hands before taking off the totem. He took Dream’s hand again, and intertwined their fingers with the totem between them. He looked up at Dream’s face and tried to take in every detail. The freckles, the sharp lines, the thick eyebrows and large, loving green eyes. He didn’t stop himself from looking at anything. And he loved what he saw, in every single way he could love someone. As the ceiling continued to crumble, George’s injured leg gave out and he ended up putting all his weight in Dream’s hands. “We’re in this together. Okay?” He said in a strained voice. “I’m not leaving if you aren’t.”

Dream shook his head in disbelief. It’s not what he wanted at all. He choked on a laugh and muttered. “You’re such an idiot...” He looked at the ceiling and then back at George. “You know, you’re a stubborn idiot. A stubborn, selfish idiot.”

“Yeah.” George shrugged. “Probably.”

“You are.”

“We both are.”

A jarring rumble sounded through the room. Their time was running out. Dream wanted to joke more, banter like they usually did, but anything he thought up refused to come out. Nothing sounded right. Most people don’t get to choose their last words.

He chose to have a final action instead. He released the hand without the totem and used it to caress George’s cheek, guiding him into a deep, long awaited kiss. Their first and last, his final burst of affection, an apology for taking so long. Everything in their friendship had led up to this. Every interaction, every flirtatious joke, every close call, it was all building up to this moment. It was heart shattering they’d never get to share another.

George was terrified, but didn’t show it. He instead leaned in, putting all his energy and emotion into the feeling of his lips against Dream’s. He should have been shocked, or off-put, or confused. But he wasn’t, because it made perfect sense - George was always Dream’s, even if he didn’t know it. 

This made sense. 

Maybe it was the life-or-death talking, but this just made sense.

Dream’s lips were soft. The kiss fit together too perfectly, as if they were two statues carved together, brought into existence together, then broken apart in some tragic universal crime. Their lips were matched, and so was the passion. The pain. The years of weird pits in their stomach and butteries in their lungs.

Their last moment was them knowing, finally fucking knowing, the answer to the questions they had for years.

George put his free hand around Dream’s shoulder and held tight as the ceiling above them finally caved in and the world went black. 

The last thing George remembered thinking was how warm Dream’s hand was around the totem.


End file.
